Naruto: Chronicles of Tsuzaku
by DarkSwordMage
Summary: This story Chronicles the adventures of a boy with the Sharingan 20 years after the current events in Naruto. It assumes that Sasuke remains a missing ninja and doesn't return, so if that does happen, you can consider it AU, and that the divergence point.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: The Graduation Exam.

My name is Tsuzaku Sasaki, and I'm 12 years old. I live in the Ninja Village of Konoha, and I'm currently a student at the Ninja Academy there…

"All right, now, we're going to take the graduation exam." The Chunin teacher says.

I sit in a classroom with 29 other students, all of them hopeful that they will gain a headband, and I'm one of them. I sit near the back, my short dark hair hanging down above my eyes, my eyes black. My skin is lightly tanned, and I'm average height for a child my age. I wear a dark purple short sleeve shirt and black shorts with blue sandals that so many other ninja wear. I'm not wearing any ninja weapons or tools since I'm in class, and I haven't been issued any either, seeing as how I'm not even a ninja yet.

The teacher wears the uniform of a Chunin, his headband around his forehead. His hair is short and blonde, and his eyes are dark. He's in his early twenties, and has his hands on his hips behind a desk.

"For the exam, you'll all use a jutsu that you'll use often as ninja, the Replacement Technique, or Substitution Jutsu."

_Great…_

"Now, to test your ability to quickly get out of danger and conceal your movements, you'll be required to not only switch places with an object, but you'll also have to create an illusion of yourself over the object, so that it appears as though it's still you, even though you've switched places." He explains.

I shake my head.

_This is a low level technique that anyone can do, why test us on it?_

"Okay, first, Tsuzaku, come up here." The teacher says.

I sigh as I stand up, and I walk down the steps and I stop at the bottom of the class, looking at the teacher as I stand there.

"Okay, what do I switch with?" I ask, feeling the eyes of the class on me.

The teacher grabs something behind his desk, and then puts it up on the counter, a 3.5-foot tall stone cylinder.

"This." He says.

He places the statue a foot behind me, and then walks across to the opposite side of the room, standing near the wall. He faces me and smiles.

"Since this is a test, and we don't want to kill our students, I'll be throwing hard plastic shuriken at you." He explains. "Your task is to dodge the shuriken with the replacement technique, not duck them, do you understand?"

I nod.

"Whenever you're ready..." I tell him.

He draws his right arm back, the black plastic shuriken the exact size as normal metal ones. He releases them toward me, and I move fast, using the replacement technique at the last moment, everyone's attention focused on me, the shuriken hit, and then the image of me explodes in a puff of smoke, revealing the statue that I was supposed to switch with, and I stand behind the statue, a smile on my face.

"Is that good enough?" I ask as the shuriken hit the ground.

The teacher nods.

"Very good, you pass." He says. "You can take your seat."

I walk back up to my seat and I take my seat, sitting down, and staring forward, feeling the eyes of some of the other girls in the class staring at me…

_God, why the hell can't these girls find someone else to ogle over?_

I watch as the other students are all called up to the teacher's desk, and one by one he tests each and every one of them on the replacement technique…

I don't bother watching the other students, and I just stare at the chalkboard at the far end of the class, and I ignore what the other students do, and how they perform, and who they are…

"Okay, looks like we're done here." He begins. "Those of you who passed, report back here tomorrow at 8 am, those who failed, you'll have to return in the next semester."

I can hear some students sigh, and others are elated, though I'm in neither category.

_The test was easy, so why be excited about passing it?_

The teacher dismisses us, and I watch as students get up and file out, and I see three other students from the class approach me, and I just sit there as the three of them approach. One of them is blonde, the other has blue hair, and the third has red hair…

"Well Sasaki-kun, didn't I do well on that test?" The red head asks.

"Not as well as I did!" The blonde cuts her off, in an angry tone.

"The both of you are nothing compared to Sasaki-kun and I!" The blue haired one yells.

_Lord, why can't I meet people that don't act like this?_

I make hand signs under my desk, and there's a puff of smoke, and the girls all step back as they realize I'm trying to get away!

"Sasaki-kun!" They all shout as the smoke clears and I'm gone, nowhere to be found in the room…

I stand outside in the hallway, and I take off at a run, moving down the hall as fast as my legs can carry me, and I stop at the end of the hall, turning right, I take off down the hall like a bat out of hell…

The next morning, I walk to the ninja academy; looking largely the same as I did when I left, save for three differences. The first is the pouch I wear on my right hip, the second is large meat cleaver like sword that rests on my back. The sword is basically just that, a large cleaver, with a white bandage like wrap on the hilt, lacking a hand guard or any other adornments. The sheath is made to fit the sword, and is made of tough leather, with a metallic interior. The strap hooks in front of my chest, nearly over my sternum. Finally, the Leaf Headband rests on my forehead, the headband and the pouch I received after I made my way from the class…

_Hell, I nearly forgot about these things, in my rush to get away from those girls…_

I walk with my hands in my pockets, the sword resting on my back, I walk back into the academy, students and teachers alike walk the halls, and some give me strange looks, but with the headband on my head, no one stops me, and I walk into the classroom, seeing that I'm relatively early, still 20 minutes until the 8 am deadline…

I walk up the steps, and I stop at my old seat, undoing the buckle on my chest, I place the sword, which is nearly as tall as I am, on the desk and I sit down, the slightly raised outer wall of the desk concealing the sheathed sword…

"Well, at least there aren't that many people here…" I mutter.

I sit there, and as the students file in, most of them just take their seats, not wanting to cause a problem because we all know what's happening today, and if they enrage the instructor, he can change the squad assignments on a whim, and put students together that hate each other, when before they may've been with their friends…

"Okay, that's time!" Comes the teacher's voice from in front of the class. "I'm going to read your names off the list, and when I say your name, you'll come up front and form a line." He pauses. "As you know, each squad is a three ninja team, so you'll form lines in three, in the order you're called." He pauses again. "Okay, now, 1st Squad: Chisato Shiriyuki."

I watch as a girl stands up from the class of students, and she walks down to the front of the class, and turns and faces the class, standing there with a stone expression on her face.

_Never seen her before, she hasn't tried to attack me or anything…_

She stands roughly the same height I am, with long platinum blonde hair that's nearly white. She has blue eyes, and a firm skin. She wears a white single piece short sleeve robe with a black sash around her waist. Fishnets line her legs, and I can only assume they go all the way up. She wears the same blue sandals we all do, and her ninja pouch is on her left hip, her headband tied around her left arm at her bicep. She's my age, and thus is flat, like most other girls.

"Second." The teacher continues. "Himeko Hyuga."

_Hyuga? I've heard that name before. That family is a prominent one within the village. _

I watch as the girl stands up, and she walks to the front of the class, and stands behind Chisato. Himeko has short blue hair with light lavender colored eyes. She wears a dark black blouse with long fishnets for sleeves, and a pair of black shorts with a black sash around her waist and more fishnets going down to her feet, and sandals, like mine, only black in color…

_Has a thing for dark colors, I can't complain about that…_

She has a black pouch at her waist, and wears her headband hanging at her belt, on the sash, the band tied around her belt, the plate vertical, instead of horizontal.

"Last, but not least, Tsuzaku Sasaki." He finishes the squad.

I stand up, taking the sword with me as I walk down the stairs, placing the sword at my back, I clasp the belt together on my sternum, and I allow the sword to rest on my back as I walk to the back of the line, and I sigh as I feel the eyes of other girls on me, some of them cursing that I'm on this squad, rather then theirs…

_Well, whatever, I don't care about what they think, this is the squad I'm with, and I'll deal with it._

I stand there as the other squads are called up, one by one, and I ignore the other people and what squad they're put into. I just stand there, looking at the back of the Hyuga clan member's head…

_Her name is Himeko, right?_

I stare at the back of her head, and she shifts her neck, turning her head partially around.

"What are you staring at?" She asks her tone one of less then comfort.

"Sorry." I say simply. "Not much more to stare at."

"Is the back of my head really that interesting?"

I give a joking smile.

"What?" I ask sarcastically. "You never have seen it before? It's amazing."

She shakes her head.

"I don't know what you see in my head, but just don't stare like that."

I nod.

"Sorry." I apologize again.

"What's with that sword?" She asks. "It's hardly a ninja's weapon."

I shrug.

"I've been working with a blade like this since I was 5, so it's natural for me to have it going into a dangerous situation."

The Chunin teacher clears his throat, interrupting any conversations going on between the squads.

"Now then…" He begins. "Your squad instructors will all be here momentarily and you'll all be under their tutelage until such time as it's deemed necessary to reorganize your squad assignments, so I'd hope you like your respective teachers."

The Chunin walks to the door, and he opens it, and I can see several Jounin standing in the hallway. The eyes of the entire class lock on the doorway, and the Jounin come in one at a time, claiming a squad, and then leading that squad away. Finally, only my squad, the 1st Squad, is left…

"Where the hell is our Jounin?" Chisato asks. "He's late, all the other squads got their Jounin and left, so where the hell is ours?"

She sits at a desk, and I stand against the far side of the classroom, opposite the wall, my back to the wall, leaning against it near a window, looking out the window, my arms crossed.

"Complaining about his lack of a sense of time isn't going to speed him up, so just stop worrying about it." I tell the girl.

I can hear the growl under her breath.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" She demands. "I'm twice as strong as you are, and I could beat you with one arm tied behind my back!"

My right hand goes to the hilt of the sword slung over my back…

"Care to prove that?" I demand; a tone of anger to my voice.

Himeko gets between us, looking at Chisato and I in turn.

"Come on you two, calm down!" She tells us both.

I shake my head, taking my hand away from the sword.

_What are you doing, letting that girl goad you like that?_

"You're right." I tell Himeko, and then I look at Chisato. "You aren't worth the effort."

She growls under her breath.

"You aren't either." She says, crossing her arms and looking away from me, like I'm some low form of life that's beneath her.

_I hate people like her, they think they're better then everyone else…_

Himeko looks at the two of us, and then sighs heavily.

"What am I gonna do with you two?" She asks.

I continue to look out the window.

"I don't know, but if this teacher of ours doesn't show up soon, I'm gonna go to the academy officials and ask for a new one…"

There's a cloud of smoke, and a mild explosion, like a small firecracker going off. Smoke continues to come off of a spot in the middle of the class, and I see the smoke clear, and a man stands in the middle of the smoke, his hands together in the form of a hand sign…

"Showoff…" I mutter.

The smoke clears, and a ninja dressed in a shinobi uniform from Konoha stands in the middle of the cloud. He wears a blue sweatshirt and pants, with blue sandals, and a green vest that so many other Jounin wear. He has his headband tied around his left thigh, his ninja pack around his right. His has short red hair, and matching eyes. His hair is styled back, and his eyes are calm. He's tall, probably at least 5'8" and looks to be in his mid twenties.

_So, this our Jounin, huh?_

He looks at the three of us with his eyes, one at a time he takes the three of us in, and then smirks.

"Hmph." He says simply, not even uttering a real word.

The three of us stand there, and I look him over.

_No visible scars, doesn't show signs of a hangover, and isn't carrying anything out of the ordinary…_

"You got a name?" I ask, still leaning against the wall. "Or are we to call you Sensei-kun for as long as we're with you?" I ask sarcastically.

He glares at me, and I don't falter under his gaze.

"Trying to intimidate me?" I ask sarcastically. "Well, I don't scare so easily."

He shakes his head.

"Anybody ever tell you how stupid you are, kid?" He asks me, finally speaking his first words…

_This asshole shows up late, and then has the nerve to insult me?_

I feel my hand reach for the sword over my shoulder, and before I know it, I feel something cold and sharp pressed against my neck…

_A kunai? Impossible, he moved so fast, I couldn't follow it…_

Both Chisato and Himeko both raise their eyebrows in awe, considering the fact that there was at least 10 feet between us…

_And this guy covered it before I could even draw the sword, not to mention he drew the kunai and had it to my neck, all before I could even blink…_

"Do you understand now?" He asks. "Before I made my entrance, I could've killed all three of you countless times over, and none of you would've been able to do a thing about it." He says simply.

He pulls his kunai away from my throat and puts it back into his pouch, walking away from me as he talks.

"From now on, you three rats will be my students until the time that you prove that you all are exactly what I think you are."

There's a long silence, and I don't dare open my mouth again, because I know that this Jounin means business…

_I honestly don't think he wouldn't hesitate to kill any of us. I wonder; did we get the unlucky draw getting this guy for a teacher? Are we doomed to failure because he thinks we're nothing but garbage?_

_No, I won't let it end like that. I won't! I'm going to find my father, and the only way I can possibly find him in the outside world is if I'm a ninja. I can't afford to travel all over the world, so the only way is if I'm a ninja, and the village pays for me travel on missions!_

"And what do you think we are?" Chisato asks.

He gives her a glare.

"You're nothing but useless garbage; you're all worthless to the Village, even as Genin, the three of you are worthless."

I can see anger in Chisato's eyes, and I look to Himeko to see disappointment in her eyes, as though she believes what he's saying.

"Oh yeah!" I shout, challenging his judgment. "What makes you so sure we're trash?" I demand, glaring at him. "What makes us so special that we're worse then every other Genin in the academy?"

He raises his pointer and middle and ring fingers up in a W shape.

"Three reasons." He says simply.

"And they are?" I demand.

"Well, you." He says, pointing to Chisato. "You're too hot headed, your temper will make you careless, and you're going to get killed the minute you're put on any sort of mission that involves combat." He explains, and then he shifts his finger toward Himeko. "And you, you're a spoiled brat who hasn't had to work for anything in her life; you've had everything handed to you, even that Kekkei Genkai you're so proud of."

_Kekkei Genkai, blood inheritance limit, he has to be talking about the Byakugan I've read about, the power that only the Hyuga clan possesses…_

He moves his finger toward me.

"And you." He finishes. "You're a talent-less hack that can't even use a simple genjutsu." He tells me.

I growl under my breath…

"I'll prove you WRONG!" I shout, clenching my fists, the fear from before is gone, replaced only by burning desire, the desire to show this idiot up, and the desire to succeed…

"You think so?" He asks, and then turns his eyes to Himeko, lowering his hand. "What about you?"

She nods.

"I won't lose." She says. "I'll inherit my clan, and I'll prove to them all that I'm worthy of the name Hyuga!"

Finally, he turns to toward Chisato.

"And you?" He asks sarcastically.

She clenches her fists, so tight that I swear I can see blood coming from her hands.

"I'll show you just how strong I am, and that I CAN control my emotions!" She shouts in rage.

_Well, obviously she can't now…_

"Well then, it looks to me like you're all ready to get going." He says.

My eyes go wide as I realize what he just did…

"So, what's our job?" I ask.

He smiles.

"It's simple really." He says. "It's a test, I'm the administrator, and you're all taking it."

I know better then to groan or moan that I have to take another test, I can already tell this guy is VERY different from every other teacher I've had…

"What kind of test is it?" She asks.

He grins.

"It's a combat exercise." He explains. "The three of you against me, if you three can't beat me, then you're all out of the program, and you'll never be allowed to even enroll in the academy again."

There's silence in the room, and I swallow the saliva in my throat…

_I need to pass this test; I don't have any other choice!_

"Are you up to it?" He asks. "Do any of you want to back out now?"

I look at the other two, and I shake my head no.

"I'm in; I'll pass any test you throw at me, no problem!" I tell him with enthusiasm.

The other two nod in agreement.

"I'm in." Himeko says.

"Me too." Chisato agrees.

Chapter 1: The Second Generation…

The three of us stand in a clearing near the outskirts of the village of Konoha. The three of us arrived early, as per our Jounin's instructions. The three of us are in full ninja gear, all of us wearing basically the same equipment and clothing we were all wearing yesterday. My sword is over my back, and it rests heavily against my right shoulder…

"You'd think he'd be on time, considering he said we had to take this test himself." Chisato mumbles in annoyance.

I shake my head, seeing Himeko looking around at the woods, thinking our teacher is hiding in the woods…

"It isn't like bitching is going to solve anything." I tell her again. "If you're going to complain about something, then do something to change what you're complaining about, instead."

She shrugs.

"What do you want me to do? Go looking for him?" She asks. "He's an asshole to us enough as it is!"

I look up to see something behind her in the trees, and I can't help but grin at what I see.

"And what are you grinning at?" She demands of me.

"I'm glad to think you hold such a high opinion of me, Chisato." Comes our Sensei's voice.

I look up as he stands on the tree behind her, and she turns around, an expression of fear suddenly appearing on her face as he spoke…

"Well Chisato?" He asks. "Why don't you go on about what you think of me, tell me how you really feel?" He demands, glaring down on her.

She growls under her breath, and tries not showing her anger.

"I have nothing but respect for you, Sensei." She says in a humbling tone.

He raises his eyebrows.

"Didn't sound that way a few moments ago." He says, hoping down from the tree.

"Anyway." Himeko says as I contain my laughter. "What's this test, Sensei?"

"It's a contest of skill." Our Sensei says. "The three of you against me, if you can beat me, then I'll recognize you as Genin, if not, then you'll be removed from the program." He tells us simply.

"Any rules?" I ask, completely serious.

He shakes his head.

"None, you can use lethal force, and if you intend on beating me, then you're going to have to. Although, there is one goal, and that is the kunai I have tied at my waist, only the two who can remove them will pass."

I shake my head, looking at his waist at the two knives tied by loops to his belt.

"Any time limits?" I ask.

He nods.

"You've got 3 hours." He says. "If you can't beat me in three hours, then you don't deserve to even be in the academy, so I'll have to make it so, you are never again."

I shake my head in disgust.

_I'll have to do this fast then…_

"Begin." He says simply.

The three of us scatter like bugs, I go into a tree, and I don't keep track of the other two. I hide in the tree, and I stare at him, taking in every little detail, trying to think of the best way to attack…

_Ok, stay calm, look at him; he's not holding any weapons, though he does have kunai in his pouch. He isn't going to be taken out by any cheap tricks either. At first, I would think to use shuriken as a distraction, and then ambush him, but he's too good for that. My only chance is to hit him with something unexpected…_

I make a plan in my mind, and I withdraw shuriken from my pouch, putting three of the weapons in each hand…

_Now!_

I let fly with 6 of the shuriken, and I throw them at him, leaping up and out of the tree, grabbing the sword as I do, and unsheathing it as I go into the air…

"That won't work…"

He pulls a kunai from his pouch, and knocks the stars away, and I come down, yelling out as loud as I can as I come down, swinging the blade down over my head and toward him.

"Hmph…"

He raises his own kunai and blocks my sword slash with the knife, the large cleaver pressing against the small knife…

"You like that sword so much, but your skills with it aren't that impressive."

I grin, hearing something from behind me, and knowing exactly what it is…

"Whoever said I was trying to beat you with this attack?"

He raises his eyebrows.

"What?"

I push the sword off of his knife, and I kick away from him, and 6 more shuriken come flying at him, these are too close for him to dodge, or at least, so I think…

The weapons fly on target, and I watch as he vanishes from sight, disappearing into thin air as I float overhead, slowly heading back to the ground, landing on my feet, I hold my sword at my side, kneeling slightly, the sword parallel to the ground…

_Damn it! Where'd he go?_

I feel something point into the back of my neck, and I freeze, realizing what's happening…

_Holy hell, he got up behind me so fast, and he made it look like nothing…_

"It's 100 years to early for you to try and take me on alone." He tells me.

I tighten my grip, and I feel the kunai press harder again my neck.

"I wouldn't do that, it isn't the smartest thing you could do."

I growl, cursing under my breath.

_Damn! He's got my cornered, and I can't even move, he's watching me like a hawk, and if I try to make hand signs, he'll take my head before I can even move…_

I look to see three kunai fly toward the teacher, and he leaps back, dodging the strike, and I leap forward, taking off into hiding as I sheath the sword behind my back. I take into hiding, and I look out to see our teacher standing in the middle of the clearing, looking around…

_Whoever threw those kunai just saved my neck, now I have to think about my plan? The shadow shuriken technique didn't work, and somehow he can move so fast that I can't follow him like this, so now I have to think of a way to stop this monster…_

"Got you!" I hear Chisato yell.

She pops up behind him and grabs him from behind. She has her arms under his and her legs wrapped around his. She manages to put her hands together, and makes a quick set of signs, and then I watch as her arms and legs extend like a snake, coiling and wrapping around his limbs…

"An expansion jutsu?" He asks, looking at his arms.

I can see a smile on her face.

"Now, Sensei, why don't you just hand me one of those kunai?" She mutters.

_Now's my chance, I could grab one of those kunai off his belt and pass this test…_

I jump from the tree, charging forward with all the speed I can muster as I target the kunai at his waist.

He sees me coming after him, and I extend my right hand, opening my fist to grab for the kunai, trying to pull it from his waist. He sees me coming as soon as I make the move toward him, and I see him emit a burst of chakra from his arms and legs, throwing her arms off of him, and then he leaps up, dodging my grab, and I swear for a split second, I can feel the kunai on my fingertips, and then it's gone in nearly the same moment that I touched it…

_Damn it!_

He lands on the other side of the clearing as the two of us, and I turn around, glaring at him…

_I don't have any choice, if I'm going to beat him, I'll have to try and use THAT jutsu…_

I draw the blade, and after I stab the sword into the ground, I make several hand signs in rapid succession, finishing with the sign of the tiger…

_Now, I can do this._

I separate my hands, keeping my chakra focused on my hands. I grab the hilt of the sword with my right hand, holding the sword up in front of me, and I slide my left hand up the sides of the blade, stopping at the tip of the sword, and I grin…

"Fire Release…" I mutter.

I charge forward, emitting chakra through my feet, running forward as fast I can, I charge, and I swing the sword, and he dodges the slash with only a few millimeters between my sword and his skin, and I continue, trying to cut him, and he leaps back, and I growl…

"Flame Sword Jutsu!" I yell, flicking my right thumb up, sending a burst of chakra out of my thumb and onto the sword, the energy mixing and causing a spark, igniting the chakra lying on the blade, the sword becoming engulfed in fire…

"What?" He asks, puzzled at the technique.

I charge, swinging the blade down, and he's forced to jump away, unable to dodge on a slim margin, because the heat of the sword will still burn your body, if you're too close…

_Damn it!_

I keep after him, swinging the blade again and again, and finally, I hold the hilt near my right side, and I thrust it forward, extending my thumb and emitting chakra from my finger, shooting the flame off the sword like a flamethrower.

"Fire Release: Flame Throwing Sword Jutsu!"

He leaps to the side, dodging the flamethrower technique, and then he springs forward, driving his fist into my right cheek, sending my flying back, and I feel the pain in my face, landing on my back I groan in pain. I get up, the sword still in my hand, and he looks at me, and I glare back at him…

_He's fighting us for real, he isn't holding back enough to give us a chance to beat him one on one, so how the hell am I supposed to beat him if I can't touch him…_

I watch as Himeko jumps from the bushes, and tries to drive her palm into the Jounin. He smirks, knowing it's coming, he simply spins around, grabbing her arm and pushing her forward, using her own momentum against her, she lands flat on her chest on the ground, relatively uninjured, though her sneak attack did little more then show the Jounin's ability, and the gap between him and the three of us…

_Jesus, how are we supposed to pass the test if we can't even touch him?_

"Well…" He mutters, looking down at his watch, never once dropping his guard as the three of us stand near each other. "I'd say that makes time for a 15 minute break." He says. "Since the three of you are so worthless, after this break, there's a new rule." He tells us. "If you can't get the kunai on your next try, then all of you fail, get it?"

He disappears in a cloud of smoke, and I get to my feet, leaning on my sword as I do.

"That isn't fair!" Chisato complains rather loudly. "How can he suddenly say that we only get one shot to do this?"

I shake my head, looking down at the sword, and then to Himeko.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." I say simply. "If we're going to even stand a chance of beating him and passing, then we all have to work together."

"Teamwork?" Chisato asks. "That's ridiculous, even if we succeed, who gets the knives, and who doesn't?"

"I'll fail." I say simply, looking at Himeko, seeing her mouth preparing to open. "You two have more at stake in this then I do."

I can FEEL Chisato's smile.

"That works for me." She yips happily.

Himeko stays silent.

"Either way, we need a plan." I say simply. "And I think I know what we could do, but it's going to be tough, and all three of us are going to have to step up."

"What's your plan?"

I give an explanation of what I want to do, and when I finish, Himeko gives a surprised look.

"How do you know that I can do that?" She asks.

I give a smirk.

"The Hyuga clan is famous within Konoha, and I've heard all about what your fighting style is capable of, can you do it?"

She nods.

"I can, but he'll have to be still, if he's moving, there isn't any way that I can even touch him."

I nod, looking at Chisato.

"That's your job, I'll get his attention and hold it while you sneak up and grab him, and when you do, Himeko will come in at almost the exact same time, and strike his chakra points, cutting off the flow of his chakra, preventing him from using it to blow you off his body." I explain.

"Well, one question, just what do think is going to be different about this time, seeing as how he beat you into the ground the last time you exchanged blows with him?"

"Don't worry." I tell her. "This time will be different, trust me on that."

_The last time, his speed blew me away because I couldn't follow it, but when I fight him this time, I'm positive I'll be able to track it…_

"Well then, we don't have much time before he gets back, any questions?" I ask.

They both shake their head no.

"Good then, remember the plan, and this should work."

They all nod, and we all just sit there on the ground, waiting quietly for our Jounin to return, and he does make a flashy entrance…

"What's going on, Maggots?" He asks, appearing in a puff of smoke. "You all decided to give up on ever being ninja?"

We all face him, and we all glare at him.

"Not on your life, not one of us." I say simply, pulling the sword up as I stand, the other two getting to their feet as well.

"Well then." He says, crossing his arms. "You've got one more try to take the kunai, if you can't, then you're all expelled."

I nod.

The two of them disappear, and I charge forward, bringing my sword down, I see him move, and I close my eyes, calling something up from within my own body…

_Now!_

Suddenly, I can see and follow his movements, and I hold the blade over my left shoulder, the flat side of the sword against my back, his fist connecting with it…

"What?" I hear him ask.

"I can see you…" I mutter as I look over my shoulder, glaring at him.

"Your eyes!" He stammers.

I push his fist off of my sword and I spin around completely, bringing the blade to bear as he leaps back, flipping back three times and landing on his feet. Kneeling down after the third flip, he looks at me, and I can see the uncertainty in his eyes, and I just stand there, resting the sword on my shoulders, glaring at him.

His body moves, and I can read it like a book. I follow his movements as he goes up, and starts making hand signs in the sky…

_His chakra, he's going to use some sort of fire technique!_

"Fire Release: Great Fire Ball Jutsu!" He shouts, using the flamethrower technique.

I make one handed hand signs with my free hand, focusing my chakra into my left hand. I bring the blade over my head, and slide my hand along the back of the sword, glaring at the fire as it comes for me.

_Not a chance…_

I hit the fire with my sword, and the chakra I laid out on the blade ignites, the entire sword blade burning, and I watch as he comes up from behind me, and I spin, emitting chakra from my right thumb, I cause the flame to jump from the blade, like burning gasoline being shot out of a gun…

"Crap!" He mutters, seeing me become surrounded in flame.

He jumps back, putting distance between us, and I stop spinning, standing there amidst the fire, feeling the heat as I glare at him, a sweat on my body, the fire on my sword extinguished…

"Who are you, really?" He asks. "How can you have eyes like that?"

I grin.

"I'm Tsuzaku Sasaki, just another boy trying to become a Shinobi."

"You liar…" He mutters.

I see Chisato leap from the bushes as he glares at me, his entire attention focused on me; that he forgot about the other two genin…

"Shit!" He growls as she grabs him.

"Gotcha." She mutters, wrapping her arms around him, and I feel Himeko run by, chakra shooting out of her feet as she dashes in, and I watch her strike his chest.

"Eight Trigrams 2 Palms." She begins, hitting with two, two finger strikes. "4 palms, 8 palms, 16 palms, 32 palms, 64 palms!" She yells, hitting him with more and more each time, until finally the 64th blow lands on his chest…

"What?" He demands, standing there as her attack moves him backward, and I watch as he tries to use his chakra…

_Even I can see that her technique has locked all his chakra within his chest, he can't use it, since she hit every point on his chest…_

I walk forward with a smile on my face, and she glares at him, her Byakugan still in her eyes.

"It's OVER, Sensei." I tell him, resting the sword on my shoulders, returning my eyes to normal. "You've lost."

Through the seriousness of the situation, I hear a laugh come from the Jounin's lips.

"This is great…" He mutters, and I can see a confused expression on Chisato's face.

"What are you laughing about; we beat you, now hand over those Kunai!"

He grins a strangely happy grin.

"I've only got one thing to tell you." He says. "You've all passed!"

The three of us give a stupefied expression.

"What do you mean?" I demand. "You said that only two of us could pass, only the two who got the marked Kunai."

He grins.

"That was to test you." He says simply. "I wanted to see if you could put aside your differences and focus on teamwork, on the mission." He says. "When you're a ninja, sometimes you have to put your future aside in order to succeed in the mission. You may have to die so that your comrades can live, and it's a sacrifice that each of you is going to have to learn that you might face."

Himeko and Chisato shake their heads, and Chisato releases her grip on him, undoing the jutsu that bound our teacher.

"That's crazy, I'm not going to just lie down and die for a mission!" Chisato shouts. "I won't lose my life for the village's payoff!"

He glares at her.

"You honestly think you'll make it as shinobi if you aren't prepared to die?" He asks.

She nods.

"I won't just lie down and die, I'd sooner run then give up my life for something I don't believe in." She explains.

He shakes his head.

"Then you'll never become anything more then a Genin." He says simply. "One of the village's greatest heroes, the Fourth Hokage, gave up his life to save the village." He explains. "Are you going to tell me that he shouldn't have done that? If he hadn't, none of us would be standing here today."

She shakes her head.

"I'll deal with that when the time comes." She mutters, ending the conversation.

He looks at Himeko, and then to me, his eyes resting on me in a grim glare…

"What about you two, can you live with that?" He asks. "Would you do what the Fourth Hokage did, without another thought?"

I nod.

"To save the lives of others, I'd gladly give mine."

"What about you Himeko, would you give your life to save the lives of your comrades?"

Her only respond is a simple nod.

"Good then." He says, grinning. "My name is Ishikawa Masakazu, and I'm your Sensei and squad leader for as long as this team is together." He tells us.

_Ishikawa Masakazu huh, I never imagined that I'd get his name, he's never acted like he likes us, and now he's treating us like we're friends, like the three of us have to work together with him…_

"So, this whole thing, was just a fake?" Chisato asks.

He nods.

"What you three just did was a test." He says simply. "As Genin, the three of you need to work together, that's why we have you in three man teams." He explains.

"What about individual skill levels?" I ask. "If some of us are better then the others, won't that simply slow down those who are better at this?"

He shakes his head.

"I don't care how good you think you are, you're all nowhere near Chunin level, so I suggest that you throw out any ideas of you being better then anyone else, because you aren't."

I nod, and I can see the grim reality setting in for the other two as well…

_I don't know just how strong I am, but I have to get better, I know I need to get stronger!_

"Our first mission will be tomorrow, so report to our HQ tomorrow morning at 9 am; we'll receive our first orders then."

The three of us nod, and then Ishikawa disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving the three of us standing there, a silence between us…

"Well…" I begin, sheathing the sword. "It looks like we're all still Shinobi, and still Genin." I point out.

Himeko smiles.

"I know, and I'm glad that we all are still together."

Chisato scoffs.

"It doesn't matter that much to me, so long as I am still a shinobi, I couldn't care less about anything else."

I shake my head.

"What's your motivation?" I ask. "Why do you care about being a Shinobi so much?"

"My reasons?" She asks. "Why should I tell you anything like that?"

"You make out being a Shinobi is so important to you, I'd like to know what I was going to sacrifice myself for."

"What's it matter?" She asks, avoiding the question. "All three of us are still Shinobi, and none of us had to get kicked out of the program, so what's it matter?" She asks again.

I glare at her.

"I want to know why you think being a Shinobi is so important, and if I have to beat it out of you, then I will."

"If you want to know my reasons, then why not tell me yours?"

I nod.

"My reason?" I ask, pausing. "That's simple; I'm looking for my father."

I see her raise her eyebrows.

"Your father?" She asks.

I nod.

"The people who raised me, they aren't my parents, at least, not my biological ones." I explain. "I was found when I was young, at the village gates, a Jounin returning from a mission brought me in, and a ninja from this village raised me." I continue. "He's the one who taught me how to fight."

"Do you have any ideas?" She asks me.

I shake my head.

"The only connection I have to the man who bore me is the power in my eyes, the thing that surprised our Sensei, that's my only connection to him…"

"You mean, the Sharingan?" Himeko asks, speaking up.

_Sharingan, HE said that once before, when I first discovered it…_

"What is that?" I ask Himeko. "What do you know about it?"

"Only a little." She says. "It's a forgotten power, and it's forbidden for anyone to speak of the clan that bore it." She explains.

_So what, I'm from this forbidden clan or something?_

"And why is it forbidden, did they do something?"

She shrugs.

"I don't really know exactly, it only has something to do with what the last heir to that clan did, other then that, I have no idea."

I nod.

"I knew it…" I mutter.

_My father, he's in the outside world, and he's some sort of criminal!_

"So…" Chisato begins, changing the subject. "If you're looking for your father, why not just travel around the world on your own, why become a ninja?"

"That's simple." I tell her. "I have no money, and to travel around the world takes lots of it, and ninja often have to leave the village to do missions, and since the village pays for it all, I don't have to worry about paying for the trip."

She shrugs.

"I guess that makes sense, though it isn't the easiest way for you to go about this." She tells me. "You could just as easily live off the land."

I shake my head.

"I walk the path I've chosen, it's the only road I can walk on now, and I'm not turning back."

She sighs.

"Whatever, I'm going home, we've got a mission tomorrow, and I need the rest."

Chisato walks off, leaving Himeko and I together. I watch as she walks, and then I shake my head in futility…

"What's wrong?" Himeko asks. "Aren't you going to go home too?"

"Maybe, but I just don't feel like going home right now, I guess the adrenaline is still running through my body, or something."

"You wanna go do something?" She asks; the Byakugan fading from her eyes. "I mean; we could work on our teamwork…" She mumbles.

"If you wanna hang out with me, that's fine." I tell her. "I really don't feel like training anymore today, I'd like to just relax a little." I explain.

She nods.

"All right, then let's head back!" She says with enthusiasm.

I start back toward the main area of the village, and Himeko walks next to me. I walk with my hands in my pockets, and she walks with her hands in front of her, together, and I can swear that I feel her eyes on me every now and then, as if glancing over at me, her thoughts running through her head…

_I wonder why she's always looking at me, glancing at me? I mean, if she wants to look, it's her choice, but I can't see why she'd want to stare at me. I'm not exactly cute or charming or anything…_

"Where should we go?" I ask as the two of us walk, changing my train of thought. "There are several places we could go, are you hungry?"

She nods.

"I did eat this morning, but the test took a lot out of me, and I could stand to eat something…"

"So could I, fighting Ishikawa-sensei took a lot out me, a good amount of my chakra was used when I used all those jutsu."

She shakes her head.

"You know, you know all those ninjutsu, how did you ever learn them all?"

I shake my head.

"It's easy, when you don't have any friends when you're growing up, and the other kids all think you're an outsider, I didn't have much choice other then to hit the scrolls, so to say."

"So, the man who raised you, he taught you those ninjutsu?"

I shake my head again.

"He didn't, he lacks any talent for ninjutsu, or genjutsu, but the woman he lived with, she knew a lot, and let me read the scrolls of ninjutsu on lots of techniques, and after the Sharingan thing came into my eyes, she encouraged me to continue to learn how to become a ninja, though I saw a light in her eyes after that, like she knew something, but she never said anything to me about it." I explain. "For some reason, she showed me a lot of fire based ninjutsu, and encouraged me to keep at it, even when it was hard at first…"

"You mean…" She begins. "People didn't talk to you?"

I nod.

"In hindsight, it was probably because I was left on the outskirts of the village, and brought inside, the also someone probably knew that I had this power in my eyes, I don't know…"

Himeko and I end up going to a local ramen shop, we pay for our own food, and then words come out of her mouth that I never expected to her anyone say…

"Do you have anything else to do today?" She asks, sitting at counter, the bowl in her right hand, and the chopsticks in her left.

"Anything to do?" I ask. "I don't have anything to do, why?"

"Well, um, if you wanted, you could come back with me to my house, and you could eat dinner with my family, we've got the room, and I'm sure mom wouldn't mind having a guest for dinner."

"You're inviting me to dinner?" I ask in a surreal tone, like I don't believe it's happening.

_You belong to a noble clan from the village, and you're inviting me to dinner?_

"Thanks." I begin. "But no thanks." I tell her.

"Why?" She asks, questioning my response.

"You're part of a noble family, and you've said yourself that you want to inherit the clan." I explain. "I don't think your father and the other members of your family would be too happy if you brought someone like me home, someone who's not only an orphan, but also I've got this Sharingan, which will tell them I'm some sort of dishonored shinobi, and as much as I'd like to accept, I don't want to get you into trouble with your family, so I can't accept."

She shakes her head.

"Mom won't care, only my grandfather would care about something like that."

I shake my head.

"Still, I don't want to take the chance, and I should just go home and relax, so I'll say good day." I tell her.

I place the money for the bill on the table, and I get up and walk away, leaving half a bowl of pork ramen on the table, and an empty glass of water…

"Tsuzaku…" She mutters as I walk away.

I don't respond to her calling out to me, I just ignore it, walking back toward the small one room apartment that I call home…

_I'm sorry Himeko, but I can't do that to you, not just because you're a teammate, but because you care, I won't hurt someone that cares about me, I refuse to be like my father and hurt the people around me just because I'm too weak!_

"That's it." Comes a voice in my head, a deep, male voice. "You're always going to be alone; no one will ever understand us." It says in my ear.

I shake my head, grabbing the right side of my head.

_Not this again! You aren't real! You've nothing but a figment of my imagination, so just DISAPPEAR!_

I shake my head, clearing the voice from my mind.

"How long has it been?" I mutter. "How long since the last time I heard that voice?"

I make my way back to my apartment, and I go inside, taking the sword from my back and throwing it on the floor, and then I fall straight into bed.

_Didn't think that test would take so much out of me, and for some reason, since I heard that voice, I feel exhausted…_

I fall asleep, and I sleep like a rock, sleeping for almost 13 hours before I wake up at 5:40 am, groaning as I stare up at the black ceiling, the curtain on the small window drawn, and even if they weren't, it's still too early for the sun to come up…

"Jeez." I mutter, lying in bed, the covers kicked off the bed in my sleep.

_I've been living here for almost two years now, and every time I look up at this ceiling, I feel emptiness inside, like something's missing, and now's no different…_

I sit up, seeing the cleaver lying on the floor near the bed, and I remember what I did yesterday, and how I came home…

_I probably looked like I was drunk…_

I shift and bring my legs over the bed, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I guess I should get up, no point in sitting here till its time."

I get up and I go through my morning routine, getting a shower and changing clothes, although I wear another set of clothes, identical to the ones I was wearing before…

_I buy in bulk, what can I say?_

I place the sword on my back and the pouch at my waist. I make sure it's stocked with what I need, and then I leave my apartment, locking the door behind me.

_It's still dark out, huh?_

I start walking around, and I walk with no particular destination in mind, and as I walk, I see someone standing along the walkway, looking up at the sky, his long black hair hanging down to near his feet…

_What a weird looking guy. He's dressed in those traditional white robes, and with that dark hair, he really stands out, but what really sends a chill down my spine is this chakra that his body is giving off, I've never felt anything this strong…_

"And I thought I was the only one up this early." He says as I walk by.

I avoid his gaze, as if looking at him will bring his wrath on me.

"I couldn't sleep." I mutter, lying through my teeth.

He looks at me, turning around.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?" He asks.

I glance the older man over, and seeing as how he's in his 30s, I know that I've never met him before, and I don't look him in the eyes.

"I can't ever remember meeting anyone like you."

He turns away.

"Whatever, just be careful out here at night, you never know who could show up out of nowhere and try to mug you."

I shrug.

"I know." I respond simply, and I walk away.

_Who the hell was that guy? He's dressed in those weirdo robes that you hardly ever see anymore. And what's with that chakra? He gives off an aura like he's an elite Jounin, yet I didn't see a headband anywhere on him, so who the hell is he if he isn't a ninja?_

As I walk, I find myself thinking about what's to come in the day, and I end up finding a small bridge with a river under it, and I lean over it, looking at the river flow, and I sort of lose myself in the river's flow, not knowing what else to do…

I stand there until the sun rises, and the appointed time draws near. I leave the bridge and head toward the Konoha Shinobi Headquarters, and when I arrive, I see Himeko and Chisato waiting there…

"You're all up early." I say simply. "I thought I was the only one who couldn't sleep." I explain.

"You didn't sleep?" Himeko asks.

I shrug.

"Well, I did, I just fell asleep as soon as I got back from the test." I mutter.

Chisato raises an eyebrow, and Himeko gives me a questioning look.

"Were you really that exhausted?" She asks. "You should've told me, I wouldn't…"

"It wasn't your fault." I tell the Hyuga girl. "It had nothing to do with you."

"Ach-hem!" Chisato clears her throat. "We've got a mission, and our Sensei is waiting for us, so we shouldn't be late, it is our first mission after all."

I nod.

"Let's get going." I say simply.

The three of us walk inside, and as I walk, I can see some of the ninja inside the HQ giving the three of us strange looks, and when we see Ishikawa-sensei, the three of us approach him.

"Well, at least the three of you aren't tardy for your mission." He tells me. "Though the three of you don't look quite the same as you did yesterday."

I shrug.

"Can we get on with this; none of us are getting any younger."

He grins.

"As to be expected of young brats, always impatient." He mutters.

_Well, Chisato, you and I agree on one thing, and that is our Sensei truly is an asshole... _

"Well, follow me then." He says.

He leads us down a hall, and we all follow him, and he leads us to a room with a table on the far end, the large room empty save for the table with Shinobi behind it, the Hokage sitting at the middle of it all, other Jounin and Chunin sitting beside him. We stand behind Ishikawa-sensei, as he approaches the table.

"Ishikawa Masakazu, and squad 1 reporting for mission assignment." He says simply.

The Sixth Hokage sits at the table; the man sits at the chair with a grin on his face. His hair is short and blonde, and his eyes are blue. He has strange whisker like marks on his cheeks, and wears the hat of the Hokage, the symbol for Fire on the tip of the hat.

"Well, if it isn't Ishikawa-sensei." The Hokage says happily.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." He says. "I'm here for our first assignment."

The Hokage grabs a stack of small bundles of papers, and then picks one.

"Here you go." He says, handing the papers to Ishikawa.

Our sensei looks at the assignment and I see a look of annoyance appear on his face.

"Thank you, sir." He says simply.

The next thing I know, I find the three of us combing the forest outside our village, a radio headset in my right ear…

"What are we looking for again?" I mutter into the earpiece.

"A noblewoman's lost cat, remember Tsuzaku?" Ishikawa yells back into the earpiece. "That's the mission, remember!"

I cringe from the earpiece.

"How are we supposed to find a cat in the middle of a forest like this?" I ask. "It's impossible."

"Listen, if you want to get the mission over with, use your Sharingan to help you locate the cat, Himeko is already using her Byakugan, so just use that power of yours, and this will be over much quicker…"

I close my eyes, and I feel the power emerge behind my eyelids, and I open my eyes to see everything moving through the forest, and my eyes focus on something, something that doesn't belong there…

"I've found it!" I whisper into the headset.

I leap from the tree, and I open my arms to grab the cat as it leaps from the tree, and I swear…

"Son of a…"

I see the cat falling toward the ground, and I pull the kunai from my pouch, holding it in my right hand…

_If I can throw this just right, the cat will instinctively grab hold of the kunai as it passes under it's feet, and then it'll be stuck to the tree, and I'll be able to end this mission!_

I land on the branch the cat was on, and I look closely, taking aim, I let fly with the kunai, and throwing it with all the force I can muster, hearing the knife cut through the air, and I watch as my aim stays true, the cat grabbing the kunai as it passes underneath it, and I lunge for the cat, scooping it up inside my arms I back flip and land on my feet, on a branch, less then 10 feet from the ground.

"I've got the target." I say into the headset.

"Can you confirm the collar?" Ishikawa asks.

"Of course." I tell him, holding the cat so it can't claw me, and turning off the Sharingan. "Everything's good."

"All right then." Ishikawa says.

There's a cloud of smoke, and he appears near me, on a branch above me, holding a pet carrier cage in his left hand.

"Let's get our target in this, and then we'll head back."

He moves down branches, and I nearly throw the cat into the cage.

"There, you damn fur-ball…" I mutter.

The cat growls; and I feel a smirk of superiority over the cat, and as the cat howls and claws at the bars.

_You get what you deserve, you damn cat…_

With that, the mission is over, and we've done what we were paid to do. The three of us return to the village, and when we go through the main gate, Ishikawa opens his mouth.

"We have to report back to HQ, both to hand over this cargo and to report our success to the Hokage."

"I'm sure we're all aware of that." I say simply. "We were all taught SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) at the academy, so you can just skip all that crap." I tell him.

_God, I HATE this man!_

But, even with this Sharingan, I don't stand a snowball's chance of beating him like I am now, that's why I have to improve, I have to learn to become stronger…

"What're you thinking about, Tsuzaku?" Chisato asks sarcastically. "You look like your brain is gonna seize up."

I sigh.

"Why don't you go to hell, Chisato?" I ask of her.

She stops and glares at me.

"You first!" She growls, glaring at me.

I stop as well, and I glare back at her.

"How about I send you there!" I grab for my sword.

"Listen up pond scum!" I hear Ishikawa scream at us. "If you two keep this up, I'll beat the both of you into the ground, so much that you'll be counting ceiling tiles in a hospital room!"

The two of us stop in our tracks, and I can feel the bloodlust coming from our Sensei, and the seriousness of the situation…

I look away from her, keeping my mouth shut.

"Now, you two apologize to each other." He tells the two of us.

I don't look at her, ignoring her glare.

"I'm sorry." I say with no meaning.

"Yeah, yeah." She replies.

I can see Himeko has a concerned look on her face, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that she's concerned about the two of us…

"Now, if the two of you are done bickering, perhaps we can finish this mission?"

Chisato and I nod, and Himeko does so as well, the three of us following Ishikawa-sensei back to stand before the Hokage…

We manage to make it there without any problem, and when we arrive, the three of us stand silent, as Ishikawa speaks.

"Lord Hokage, we have returned from our mission with the target, and are here to give our report." He tells the Hokage.

"I take it you've succeeded in capturing the target?" The Village Leader responds.

Ishikawa nods.

"Yes, and I'll be leaving it here."

The cat's constant meowing and howling are like an overture to their conversation…

"And, I'd like to request another assignment for my group, an assignment of C rank or higher." He tells the Hokage.

My eyes go wide.

_A C-Rank mission, what's he doing? Those are supposed to be reserved for Chunin, we're just out of the academy Genin, and we're having problems working together, so why is he requesting a HARDER mission?_

"A C-Rank mission?" The Hokage asks; a happy grin on his face. "Or higher?" He continues. "Surely you must be joking, you want me to give a C rank mission to Genin who only 2 days ago graduated from the academy, and are having problems acting as a group?"

"I know, Lord Hokage." Our Sensei begins. "I know how stupid this looks, but I have my reasons for doing this." He explains. "I feel as though this group has talent, and real potential, and to force them to try to work together on tasks that one of them alone can complete without the aid of the others, is causing friction between them." He continues. "I feel as though the challenge of a C Rank mission will cause this team to stop bickering between themselves, and focus on their teamwork, rather then fighting each other."

The Hokage gives a smile.

"So, you want a mission that will force your squad to work together, or die trying, am I right?"

My eyes go wide as I see our Sensei smile, and then nod appreciatively.

"Yes, that's EXACTLY what I want." He says simply.

_He's got to be kidding! He wants us to go on a mission where we're over our heads, to force us to work together to survive!_

"Then I'll do you one better, Ishikawa-sensei." He says. "Come back tomorrow with your squad, and I'll give you the details, assuming your squad can survive that long."

He grins.

"I think they can manage one night, especially since they won't be seeing each other after they leave here, most likely."

There's a long silence, and then I hear Chisato smile.

"Whatever, I'll pass whatever you send at me, no question." She says simply.

I keep quiet.

_The last thing I need is for the Hokage to give us an A rank mission, there isn't any way that the three of us will survive anything higher then a C rank, so hopefully, maybe, that's all he'll give us…_

"Is there anything else?" The Hokage asks.

Ishikawa-sensei shakes his head.

"No, there isn't anything else, if you'll excuse us."

The three of us leave, and I' happy to be out of that room, but I know that I'll be back in that room tomorrow morning…

_Yeah, and I'll probably be handed my death sentence…_

As the three of us leave, we leave the HQ in silence, and once we're outside, I turn around.

"Sensei, what the hell are you thinking?" I demand from him. "How can you do that to us?" I ask. "There's no way we can survive a C Rank mission as we are!"

He grins.

"That's the point, knucklehead." He shoots back. "During this mission, you three will LEARN to work together, or you'll die, either one makes no difference to me."

_This-this-this son of a…_

"So, I'd suggest the three of you make sure that your affairs are in order, because you might not come back!"

With that, he disappears into a puff of smoke, and leaves the three of us standing there, like deer in headlights…

"I don't believe this…" Chisato mutters. "What he's doing isn't fair!" She complains.

_I know, I know, I know, and he's doing it to teach us something, something he thought we learned, but we really didn't learn a damn thing, we only worked together because we didn't want to be taken out of the academy, and now he's asking for this mission because he knows that unless it's life or death, we won't work as a unit, our differences, particularly, the ones between Chisato and I, constantly drive a rift between us…_

"I know it isn't fair…" I mutter. "And it's because it isn't fair, that it isn't right, that we have to pass." I tell her.

"You honestly think we have a chance?" She demands. "It might be easy for you to just risk your life without a second thought, but I've GOT a family, that LOVES me, and they'll miss me if I die!" She screams at us, and then runs off in a huff, angry at the world…

I don't cry, I don't complain, I stand there, my fists clenched, and I look to Himeko, and I can see sadness in those lavender eyes of hers…

"Himeko…" I begin. "You want me to walk you home?" I ask. "I know it isn't a lot, but…"

She nods.

"I'd appreciate it, and I'd like it." She tells me.

"All right, then." I tell her. "Let's go."

She nods, and she starts walking toward her home in the village, and I walk next to her, my hands in my hip pockets, and I can see concern in her eyes.

"Hey, don't worry about it." I assuage her. "I won't let you die; I'll protect you with my life." I tell her.

She stops in her tracks, and I take two more steps before I do as well, and I look back at her.

"What's wrong?" I ask. "Is something wrong?"

I can see mixed emotions on her face.

"You, mean that?" She asks.

I nod.

"I will protect you with my life." I tell her again. "I swear it."

I can see happiness on her face.

"Thank you; and I'll do the same." She says. "I promise; that you'll come back, on my life."

_Himeko, when will you learn that you're more important then I am? You're part of a noble shinobi clan, and I'm nothing more then an orphan…_

We continue walking, and before long, Himeko speaks up.

"Well, we're here." She says.

She stops outside of a mansion of a house…

"Holy…" I begin.

The entire estate is walled off, with two large and heavy looking black doors are the only entrance from the road.

"This is your house?" I ask, and she nods.

"It is." She says. "It's been in the family for generations, and we've always seemed to have a good position within the village, at least, that's what I've taken in from everything, and the way people treat me."

_That's because you're nobility, and I'm not…_

"You want to come in?" She asks. "I'm sure mom would love to meet you."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Sorry." I tell her, shaking my head. "I'll have to decline, we've got a full day ahead of us tomorrow, and I want you to be rested for it, and I need to do so as well."

She nods.

"All right, I won't make you meet my family if you don't want to." She explains. "Though, I do wish you would meet them sometime."

I shrug.

"I will eventually." I tell her.

She smiles.

"I'm going to hold you to it." She tells me.

I turn and walk away, leaving the girl to return to her family, while I'm only to return to an empty apartment…

_Well, that's how things are, she's rich, her family is loaded and has a nice home, while you're an orphan, living in an apartment, thanks to the village council giving it to you, though the money you make through being a ninja is going to be docked, in order to repay what you owe…_

I get to the apartment without incident, and when I do arrive, I end up closing the door behind me, and I lock the door, taking the sword off my back, laying the blade on the floor. I lay down on the bed, and I close my eyes…

_I've had enough stress; I need to relax, and a nap would do me some good…_

The next morning, my eyes open, and I find myself laying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, and I shake my head as I get up, feeling the grogginess from the sleep leaving my body…

I pick the sword up, and I put it on my back, securing the sheath to my back. I shake myself off, and I run my hands through my hair, making sure it isn't messed up, and I put my shoes on and leave my apartment, walking back toward the Ninja HQ…

_It's still early, we're supposed to report to the HQ at 9 am, but I guess if I'm a half an hour early, they aren't going to kill me or anything…_

I walk with my hands in my pockets, and I keep my eyes on the ground, not wanting to draw any attention to myself…

I make my way to the Ninja Headquarters within the village of Konoha, and when I arrive, I can already see others are out and about, moving around like busy bugs, and I shake my head, walking inside, I head for the main assignment chamber. When I arrive at the door, I can hear Ishikawa's voice come from inside.

_What?_

I hear the Hokage's voice, and Ishikawa's voice, talking back and forth.

"Are you sure about this, Ishikawa-Sensei?" The Hokage asks. "Are you sure that your students can handle this?"

"I've never been surer of anything else in my life, Lord Hokage." Our teacher replies.

"This mission is a B Rank mission, usually only Chunin level squads are sent on them, can these Genin we assigned to you really have that much potential?"

"They do, Lord Hokage." He responds. "Himeko possesses the power of the Hyuga clan, and Chisato is the most stubborn shinobi I've ever met, and then there's Tsuzaku…"

"What about that Genin?" Lord Hokage asks.

"He's one of the strangest Genin I've ever met, and he seems to have a great amount of potential." Sensei finishes.

"If you say so, Ishikawa." The Hokage finishes. "When are the Genin slated to arrive?"

"I'd say one of them is already outside…" Ishikawa explains.

_Oh shit!_

I move as fast as I can, trying to make it around the corner of the hall before he can emerge from the hall, when a puff of smoke appears in front of me, and I stop in my tracks, seeing Ishikawa-sensei standing there in the cloud as it disappears…

"And just what are you doing here, Tsuzaku?" He asks me in a scolding tone.

"Well, I was just coming here to learn what our new mission was, when I heard you and Lord Hokage talking to each other about something…" I tell him.

"And just how much of the conversation did you hear?" He asks.

I shrug.

"I swear, I just got here, I only heard you talking about me, and that's it!"

He shakes his head.

"And why didn't you think to speak up when you arrived, rather then standing there in wait and listen like you did?"

I shrug.

"I didn't know what to really do; I just didn't want to interrupt your conversation between you and Lord Hokage." I explain.

He sighs.

"Either way, we've been given our new mission, and I've got the details of it." He explains. "When Chisato and Himeko arrive, I'll give you all the details, until then, wait here." He tells me.

I nod, and he goes back inside. I move against the wall and I lean against it, standing there and crossing my arms, closing my eyes, and breathing shallowly as I stand there, thinking to myself…

_Great, now I've pissed off Ishikawa Sensei, damn it all to hell…_

I hear footsteps coming down the hall a few moments later, and I open my eyes to see Himeko and Chisato coming down the hall, walking slowly as they notice me, and I look at the two of them.

"Well, you two are on time." I tell them, and I can see annoyance on Chisato's face.

"Well, what do you expect?" She shoots back. "Where's Ishikawa Sensei?"

I motion with my left hand toward the door, pointing with my thumb.

"He's inside, talking to Lord Hokage." I explain. "I don't know what he's talking about, but he's in serious conversation, cause when I tried to listen in, he yelled at me for it."

"Does he know about our latest mission?" Himeko asks.

I nod.

"He said he had the details about it, but didn't want to have to explain it twice, so he wanted me to wait for you two to show up."

"How long have you been here?" Chisato asks.

"About half an hour now I'd say, though it went fast cause for most of it, I was being scolded…"

There's a puff of smoke, and Ishikawa Sensei stands in the middle of the smoke, making hand sign…

"I see the three of you are here." He says simply.

"Yes." I nod. "So, can you please explain our next mission?"

He nods.

"Let's go inside, you'll get the details from Lord Hokage."

The four of us go inside, and I can see the Hokage sitting behind his desk, looking at the four of us.

"I can see you all made it." He says.

The three of us nod.

"May I ask what our next mission is?" I ask politely, the sword resting on my shoulder.

"Yes, in fact, it's a B Ranked mission, and Ishikawa, would you please show our guest in?"

Our sensei nods, and he turns around and opens the door, and inside comes someone dressed in dark blue noble looking robes. He has some facial hair, and he has an air about him, an air of arrogance…

"This is Fumiyama Hirosaki, he's an ambassador from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, and he was here on business." The Hokage explains. "However, due to some problems in his homeland, his escort had to return, and now, due to our treaty with the village, requires that we provide an escort for him back to his village."

"And that's us." Ishikawa-sensei confirms.

The nobleman, Fumiyama, looks the three of us over.

"You mean to tell me you're dishonoring me by sending me back to my village with 3 Genin, and only a SINGLE Jounin?" He demands from the Hokage.

The Hokage smiles, giving a assuaging smile.

"Trust me, Mr. Hirosaki." He says. "These Genin are all top notch Shinobi, the blue haired girl is a member of our Hyuga clan, one of the most powerful in Konoha, and the other girl is Chisato Shiriyuki, her clan is quickly becoming well known within our Village, and finally, the last is Tsuzaku Sasaki, he's a young Genin with great talent already, and his sensei assures me that this mission will only sharpen his skills even more, and that you're just as safe with them as a squad of Chunin." He explains.

"Though, because this mission is deemed necessary by our treaty, you won't be charging for this mission?"

The Hokage nods.

"We won't be charging you, however I'd hope that our willingness to assist with you will be remembered in the future?"

I grimace.

_Jesus, this is nothing but one long contrived politically motivated game of cat and mouse, one of the most boring things I've ever heard of doing…_

I stand there as the two of them continue to talk and play their game…

_God, how long am I going to have to stand around listening to this crap?_

"Well, if you've got no other questions, then shouldn't the five of you be off?" The Hokage asks.

The ambassador nods.

"Well, then I guess we should be going." He says.

I can see sensei sigh.

"Well, then, we should leave." He agrees with the client.

The five of us leave the room, and as we walk, Ishikawa speaks up.

"The four of us need to pack our things to prepare for the trip, I need to do as well, and you can remain here Mr. Fumiyama, until the four of us are ready."

He growls under his breath.

"This isn't the best way to start off your mission to protect me." He explains.

Ishikawa nods.

"I know." He says simply. "However, we can't leave without provisions, and I can assure you that our preparations will only take an hour at the most." He pauses. "Now, you three, get going, and report back here as soon as you're finished."

The three of us nod, and we're off and out of the building like bats out of hell. I make my way back to my apartment as quickly as possible, and I get inside, grabbing a large hiking backpack from my closet, and I throw clothes and provisions into the bag, filling the canteen at my sink, and tossing in several MREs…

"Looks like I'm done." I say simply.

I throw the backpack onto my back, and I sling the backpack onto my shoulders. I make my way back to the HQ, and when I arrive, I walk inside, and I see Fumiyama standing inside in the main lobby, with Ishikawa-sensei standing near him…

"Sensei?" I ask as I approach. "Didn't you have to go pack?"

He nods.

"I used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to make a copy of myself, and I sent the clone to pack my things, while I stayed here to guard our client."

_He used a clone jutsu to be in two places at once? That's an advanced technique, not to mention he was thinking outside the box when he decided to do that…_

I stand there, and I face the door as Himeko enters the lobby…

_Well, at least she packed up all right, and she always seems to have this strange look when she looks at me, but I can't help but feel this strange feeling in my stomach when I see her like that…_

"Is something wrong, Tsuzaku?" I hear her ask me as she approaches.

I shake my head.

"No, I'm fine." I respond quickly.

I see a smile on her face.

"Well, where's Chisato?" She asks.

Ishikawa shrugs.

"She was off packing, and the last I checked, she doesn't have that much left to do."

"I don't know, but if she isn't back within the hour, then we're leaving her here." Ishikawa sensei adamantly declares.

"Mr. Ishikawa…" Our client speaks up. "I really don't think it's a good idea to be leaving your own students behind, after all, every person is another person…"

I give the man a puzzled look.

_This asshole is nothing but a big chicken, he's afraid of something; like he knows something is going to happen…_

"Something the matter, Tsuzaku?" I hear our sensei ask.

I look up, having been broken from my thoughts.

"No, I'm fine." I tell him. "It's nothing."

He continues to look at me strangely.

"All right then, it looks like our last straggler has arrived." I hear our sensei's voice from behind me, and I turn to see his shadow clone, standing next to Chisato, as they both enter the hall…

"Looks like the gang's all here…" I mutter in sarcasm.

The clone approaches the real Ishikawa, and hands off his bag, and then the clone vanishes in a puff of smoke…

"Well, if we're all ready, then we should leave." Our sensei speaks up, trying to take charge in the situation.

"What about our client?" I ask. "He lacks any provisions or any backpack, so how can he plan on surviving the few days we'll spend out in the wild?"

Fumiyama grins.

"I'm all right; you need not worry about me."

I nod, shrugging.

"Whatever." I say simply.

The three of us all turn toward the door.

"Shall we go?" Ishikawa asks, and the three of us Genin nod.

_This is probably the last time that I'll see this place, but I swear, on my life, that it won't be the same for Himeko!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Journey to the Waterfall…

It's been a day since the four of us, with our cargo in tow, left the Hidden Leaf village and went on our mission to deliver the Ambassador Hirosaki Fumiyama from the Village Hidden in the Leaves to his home Village Hidden in the Waterfall. Our sensei, Ishikawa Masakazu, walks ahead of him, while Chisato, Himeko and I, all walk behind him…

The sun is high in the sky, and we've been awake since early morning, and we're still half a day from Land of the Waterfall…

"So, Mr. Fumiyama, tell me about your village." Chisato says, trying to spark conversation. "What's it like?"

He shakes his head.

"There isn't a lot to talk about." He responds. "When you compare my village to yours, you'll find that it isn't nearly as big, with less ninja walking around then your village. Also, the people of my village don't place as much worth on being a Shinobi as the people in your village do."

"So, why did your escort have to return?" I ask, the question bothering me since before we left. "Does your village have so few Shinobi that they needed to go on a high paying mission, and couldn't guard you?"

He gives me a sneer.

"My escort left because I asked them to return to my village." He explains. "And my reason for doing that is none of your concern."

I growl under my breath, at the air of arrogance this man takes toward the three of us…

_Just because we aren't adults, he treats us like dirt, and like we don't deserve to know anything!_

"What's the food like there?" Ishikawa pipes up from in front, speaking over his left shoulder.

"The seafood is rather delicious." He tells our Sensei. "The broiled Salmon are to die for."

I hear a rustle in the bushes, and Ishikawa stops in his tracks, the three of us doing so as well. He extends his right arm out at an angle, signaling the three of us to form a defensive formation around the Ambassador…

_I knew it!_

The three of us move and assume the formation, leaving on the front of the ambassador unguarded, since our Sensei stands in front of him, myself at his back, Chisato at his left, and Himeko at his right…

"They're here…" I hear Ishikawa mutter.

My hand drifts to my sword…

The enemy ninja spring from the bushes, the two of them focused on the Ambassador…

_What the hell?_

I draw the blade, and I see Ishikawa spring into motion. My unassisted eyes can't follow as he takes one of the enemy shinobi out, and my legs move without a thought, as I leap up with my sword in hand.

The enemy shinobi wears a long black coat and a metal gauntlet with steel claws on both hands. He brings the claws to bear on me, and I block with my sword, using the side of the blade to intercept the attack…

"Got ya!" He shouts, bringing his left hand toward me, planning to take my head from my neck…

"I don't think so!" I hear Himeko shout, and I see her jump up and drive both palms into his chest, slowing his swing enough to allow me to lean back and dodge the attack, pushing his dead body off, I land on the ground, and I watch as his corpse hits the ground, the Byakugan in Himeko's eyes…

I turn to see the other shinobi dressed similarly, except Ishikawa sensei has this one pinned to the ground, his hands behind his back.

I look back at Himeko.

"What did you do?" I ask.

The veins around her eyes recede, and I can tell she just turned off her unique power…

"I hit his chakra network, and I managed to land a powerful blow against the central core, so I managed to stop his heart…" She mutters.

I look back at the corpse, and I can see its head leaning back against the ground, as if he's looking up at something, his body motionless. I can't see any blood or cut or wound, and it looks like he should get up and start moving…

_She killed him, with that single blow? Unreal! She said she attacked the chakra network, but I read that network invisible to the naked eye, so how can she see it?_

"This one's still alive." Ishikawa says, slamming the ninja's face into the ground with his free hand. "You want to talk, tell me why you're here?"

He looks at our sensei's face, and then to each of us, his eyes landing on Fumiyama…

"This isn't over." He says simply. "The Yamikage will come."

_Yamikage? Shadow of Shadow?_

"From my perspective, you're all out of options." Ishikawa says.

I look to the Ambassador, and I can see a look of recognition in his eyes.

_What's going on? He looks like he knows exactly what that guy is talking about, yet I don't know of any village Hidden in the Shadows, and there isn't any Shadow of Shadow…_

I see something pass down his throat…

"I'll see all of you in hell." He says simply.

_A suicide pill, like cyanide or something?_

I watch as life fades from his eyes…

"He's dead?" I hear Chisato ask.

I look back at her to see her still standing near the Ambassador…

_Well, I guess it was a good move to stay where she was, there could've been a third attacker, and if there was, she was in the prime position to act in defense…_

Ishikawa sensei reaches for his neck, feeling for a pulse…

"He's dead." He says simply, getting off the ninja's back, and then he glares at the Ambassador.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" He asks.

Ishikawa growls under his breath.

"These ninja have been tracking us for the past 2 hours." He explains. "They were stalking us, looking for the most opportune moment to strike, and they didn't come after me or these Genin." He points out, pointing at Fumiyama. "They were coming after you." He says.

He then reveals a headband on one of the ninja, and it bears the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Waterfall…

"Care to tell me what ninja from your own village are doing hunting you down?" He asks.

The Ambassador stays quiet for a moment.

"That isn't any of your business." He tells Ishikawa…

_Oh, that isn't the way to get what you want out of our sensei…_

"Oh, really?" Ishikawa asks. "Last I checked, I was in operational control of this mission, and I can call it off at any time, treaty or no treaty." He says simply. "If you don't give us some answers, I'll be forced to take all of us BACK to Konoha, with my STRONG recommendation that we not accept this mission, and then you can contract another village to escort you back, and we'll be telling them everything that's happened here today, and your village can PAY for an A ranked mission."

I see the ambassador shake his head.

"Fine." He says simply. "I'll tell you."

The three of us gather around him, and I can see Ishikawa sensei scan the surrounding area before he approaches us, wanting to make sure there aren't any other threats to be dealt with, before he puts his attention on the Ambassador…

"As you're well aware, our Village Hidden in the Waterfall is a small village, and it doesn't have that much military power." He explains. "It's ruled by a feudal lord by the name of Masataka Goshinko." He tells the three of us. "Its ninja are commanded by a Shinobi named Toshiro Yumiyama." He pauses. "The shinobi leader is referred to as Nin-sama, or Ninja lord, rather then a Kage, because the village is so small, in the eyes of the other villages, the ninja leader doesn't deserve the name of Kage." He explains. "To Toshiro, the feudal lord, that is an injustice." He explains. "He wants to start a war with your Village Hidden in the Leaves, and in doing so, prove the strength of our village and its shinobi."

I can see the question in Ishikawa's mind before he even asks the question.

"You said the feudal lord wants to start a war, but what about the ninja leader, can't he block the lord's attempts at starting a war?" He asks.

The Ambassador nods.

"So far, he has managed to keep the will of the people, but the lord has a few intensely loyal followers, who call themselves the Yamikage, and these two Chunin are members of that group." He explains. "These ninja side with the feudal lord, though, their reasons for wanting a war are the true reasons the lord wants one as well."

"Why?" I ask. "What good would possibly come from a war?"

"He wants the business." He explains. "If there's a war with your village, then there will be countless fights between the two villages, and the villages around the Waterfall village will want protection, that protection will come at a high price, and the lord will rake in all the profits, while the shinobi do the dying."

"If what you say about your military power is small, then why bother starting a war if you're only going to lose?" I ask. "Surely, the damage done to the village and the people would outweigh any profit gained from starting a fight."

He nods.

"Under normal circumstances, you're right, but because our Village has secret pacts with the Village Hidden in the Mist, when war is declared by your village, the Village in the Mist would also declare war on your village as well."

_That, changes a few things…_

"But, the Village Hidden in the Mist is a member of the Alliance Treaty, why does it have a secret pact with the Waterfall Village?"

"Things are always being done for political reasons, just look at why the four of you are guarding me."

We all nod, and I stare down at the ground, not wanting to meet our sensei's eyes…

_This is nuts, we're about to get involved in a damn civil war! We need to end this mission and return to Konoha, and then they can send some ANBU members out with this idiot to get him back to his village…_

"Chisato, Tsuzaku, Himeko, follow me." Ishikawa says. "Ambassador, wait here."

He starts to walk away, and the Ambassador speaks up.

"If you leave me alone, I don't know when more shinobi could come for me!"

Ishikawa nods, making a hand sign…

_That sign…_

"Shadow Clone Jutsu." He says simply.

A puff of smoke appears next to him, and I see a solid clone stand next to him.

"I'll leave my clone here with you; he'll notify me and protect you should anything come." The original says.

The clone stands next to the Ambassador, and the four of us walk ten feet away, moving through some bushes…

"What's this about, sensei?" I ask.

He has a concerned expression on his face, and it's the first time I've ever seen that look appear on his face…

"Before we can continue with this mission, I need to ask the three of you a question." He says simply.

I look at Himeko, and we all sort of glance to each other, and then back to our Sensei.

"What is it?" I ask.

"The original scope of this mission was simply to take the Ambassador from our Village to his home in the Village Hidden In The Waterfall, however, in light of this new information, it appears to me that this mission goes well beyond the ranks of a B ranked mission, and I should, logically and responsibly, end the mission and return to Konoha immediately." He explains. "However, I can see that the three of you need to learn to work together, and during the last skirmish, you started to do so." He continues. "Can the three of you promise me that you will not only improve yourselves but also your teamwork as we travel toward the Village Hidden in the Waterfall?"

I nod, without a second thought.

"I will." I say simply.

I hear Himeko mumble her agreement a moment later.

"I swear I will."

Chisato remains silent…

"Well, Chisato?" Ishikawa asks. "Does your silence tell me that you're more rational then these two?"

_There he goes, talking down to us AGAIN!_

"Well…" She begins. "As much as I'd like to say that I want to go home and just wimp out on this, during that last fight, all I did was stand there and I couldn't even do anything to help out." She explains. "THAT, more then anything else, even our soon involvement in a civil war, angers me." She explains. "The two of you knew exactly what you were doing, but me, I just stood there, I was so scarred, I didn't know what to do…" She mutters, looking down at her right hand…

_Well, looks like I overestimated her, I thought she was waiting for a third attacker, incase the first two were a diversion to draw the entire team away from the client, but in reality she was just scarred and couldn't move…_

"Do you really feel anger at your own inability?" I ask, placing my hand on the hilt of my sword.

I can feel Ishikawa's eyes lock on me as I call the Sharingan into my eyes, reading every little movement of Chisato's body…

She looks at me, and at first, I see surprise, but then, it's gone, and she nods.

"I am angry, and I'm even more pissed that you did what you did without batting an eye…"

I draw the blade, and in a single motion, slash downward, missing her body by mere millimeters, the blade resting in the ground, the tip a ¼ inch into the ground…

I see fear in her eyes…

"Remember that fear." I tell her. "Remember what it feels like." I continue. "That is the ONE thing holding you back, Chisato." I tell her, pulling the sword from the ground and sheathing it. "For a shinobi, fear is useless, we are but weapons that do what we have to in order to survive, fear is a plague that kills a shinobi's edge, and a dull shinobi, has NO use…" I finish, the Sharingan leaving my eyes. "Remember what that fear felt like, and the next time you feel it, you won't freeze up, you'll cast it off, and do what you have to."

I look at our sensei.

"Right, Ishikawa-Sensei?"

He nods, and I see a cocky grin on his face.

"Well said, and I must admit, from here it looks like you're gunning for my job."

I shake my head.

"I could never take your job, too many stupid brats to deal with, right Team?" I ask the two girls.

They both nod.

"You're right." Chisato agrees. "There are too many brats, and I'm not one of them."

"Me neither!" Himeko agrees, showing real enthusiasm for something for the first time since we left the Village.

I feel a grin come on my face.

"Well, sensei?" I ask. "Does that answer your question?"

He nods, and I can see a smile on his face.

"You know, I might just get to like you guys." He grins from ear to ear.

"Let's go then." I say simply. "To the Land of the Waterfall!"

"Yeah!" Himeko and Chisato chime in.

_I don't know if she knows it yet or not, but Chisato, you aren't alone, we all feel that fear, we're all scared, but what we do with that fear, separates the Shinobi, from the corpses…_

The three of us walk back toward the Ambassador, and the Shadow clone disappears after the three of us return.

"All right, Mr. Fumiyama, we're going to make sure you get to your village, and then we'll make sure we leave you in good hands." Ishikawa sensei tells him.

"Good." The Ambassador smiles happily, hearing what he wants to hear.

_Conceited asshole…_

The four of us continue walking, and I see Ishikawa sensei stop in his tracks…

"What's wrong Ishikawa-sensei?" I ask.

He shushes us with a wave of his hand.

_There must be someone around, already, damn…_

The three of us assume a formation around the Ambassador, and I draw the sword from its sheath…

_Gonna need my Sharingan, these ninja are going to be Jounin level…_

I feel the power come out in my eyes, and I hold the blade in front of me, scanning the trees…

_Where's it coming from?_

I don't see but I hear Ishikawa sensei leap into action.

"There you are!"

He leaps away from us, and I continue to scan the trees, and I know that Himeko is using her kekkei genkai as well to scan the area, though I don't know for sure, I just sort of feel it…

I see the movement in the trees, and I lunge, knowing full well that the Shinobi will kill anyone who gets in his way…

"Fight me, asshole!" I shout as I attack him, and the Waterfall Jounin brings up a knife, and blocks the swing…

He's dressed in a black Jounin uniform, with a mask that covers his lips, and leaves only his blue eyes exposed.

He pushes his knife against my sword, and I can see a smirk on his face…

"You're nothing but a Genin, and you take me on?" He asks. "You've got some balls, or you're stupid, one or the other!"

He pushes me off, and I land on my feet, and before I know it, he's behind me. I can see his movement with my Sharingan, but I can't move fast enough, I try to use a replacement technique, but he strikes before I can…

I feel the kunai tear into my chest, and I can feel the spike protruding from my chest, and I fall to the ground, feeling the pain wracking my body, and I feel my face hit the ground, and I stare down into the soil…

_Is this all I have, is this all I'm capable of? I swore that I'd protect Himeko, and now I'm in the dirt…_

"Is this all you're capable of?" I hear a whisper in my ear, not the Jounin, and the voice is male.

_What?_

"You're really pathetic; I'll show you how it's done…" It whispers.

It's then that I feel it. It's like a switch is flipped inside my body, and I feel this rush of chakra and energy, and I can feel the chakra flowing from every point on my body…

"What the?" I hear the shinobi ask.

My hand leaves the hilt of the sword as I stand up, my back to the ninja. I reach behind my body, and I pull the kunai from the wound, not even feeling the pain from the cut, the chakra that came out of nowhere concentrating in the cut, and I can feel the hole beginning to close…

_What's going on? Where did all this chakra come from, how come the wound is closing, and why do I feel like a puppet?_

I turn around, and I can feel this strange sensation coming from my eyes, like something isn't right…

"What the hell?" I hear the Jounin's voice.

I glare at him, and I can see fear of the unknown appear in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I ask, glaring at him. "You afraid?"

I don't feel the pain from the wounds, and I feel my body move on its own, as though some other force is moving my body…

"What the hell?" He asks, and I can almost read his mind…

_He's thinking that I was almost dead a minute ago, and he's terrified that I'm still standing…_

"What are you?" He asks me, getting to his feet.

"Your Killer!" I shout, my eyes meeting his.

I feel something happen, and his pupils get small in his eyes, shrinking until they're nothing but little black dots in his eyes…

"No…" He mutters. "Don't…"

I keep my eyes connected to his and my hand reaches down to my pouch, withdrawing a kunai from it, and using a backhand motion, I throw the knife with deadly accuracy, hitting him right between the eyes…

_He didn't even know what hit him…_

His body falls like a rock, and I can't help but grin at the kill, feeling a feeling of satisfaction in my stomach…

"Tsuzaku?" I hear Himeko's voice…

_Himeko…_

That power I felt suddenly vanishes, and I feel the puppet master like force leave my body, and I feel my eyes return to normal, and I feel exhausted.

"I feel…" I mutter, falling into the ground.

"Tsuzaku!" I hear Himeko yell.

I hear her run toward me, and I look up to see her kneel toward me. She picks me up and puts my head on her lap…

"Are you all right?" She asks. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head.

"That Jounin, is he dead?"

She nods.

"He's dead; you killed him, though I can't even begin to fathom how you did it." She tells me. "What did you do to him?"

I shake my head.

"I honestly don't know." I tell her. "It was like I wasn't myself."

I feel the pain from the wound, and I groan in pain as I clutch the kunai wound, falling on my left side…

_The pain, it hurts…_

"Tsuzaku?" Himeko asks. "What's wrong?"

"The wound…" I mutter. "It's still open…"

I hear Chisato speak up, and I can feel her stand over me…

"I'll dress the wound; I've got medical supplies in my bag." She explains.

I feel her start on the wound, and I can feel her using her chakra in order to soothe the pain, and repair the injury. As she glares down at the wound, I give her a puzzled look as she addresses the wound…

_These skills, when did she learn how to use her chakra to heal wounds? These skills belong to a Medical Ninja, so when?_

"Just relax." She tells me. "And try not to move too much, doing so will only result in the wound opening and bleeding more." She explains.

I lay there, following her orders to the letter, and knowing full well that she's capable of killing me with a single redirection of her chakra…

"There…" She begins, pulling her hand away. "The wound has closed, and the major damage is undone." She explains. "The only thing left is to allow the wound to finish healing on its own, and to protect it from dirt."

I sit up slowly, and she looks down at me.

"Take off your shirt." She says simply.

My eyes go wide, and I hear Himeko gasp…

"Um, now really isn't the time for ogling me…"

She growls under her breath, and I feel her hand against my right cheek.

"I have to BANDAGE YOUR WOUND, DUMBASS!" She shouts at me.

I rub my cheek with my unwounded side, and I groan…

"You didn't have to hit me…"

"Now, take off your shirt!" She tells me again. "Or I'll hit you again."

I nod, grasping at clasp on the sheath. I take the sheath off, and then I grasp at the bottom of the shirt, and I pull it over my head, taking the shirt off slowly to reveal my chest, and the many scars that adorn it, bruises from my childhood…

"Your chest…" Himeko mutters. "What happened to you?"

I shake my head.

"Don't ask; it isn't something I want to talk about." I say simply.

"Either way, sit still." Chisato explains.

She withdraws bandages from her pack, and she starts wrapping my chest with it. Before long, the bandages cover the wounded area, and she secures the bandage, making sure it's tight against my skin, and then stands up.

"All right, you're done." She says simply.

"Do I get a lollipop for being a good boy?" I ask sarcastically.

I see her grin.

"Sorry." She replies in jest. "I JUST ran out."

Himeko shakes her head.

"As long as you feel all right…" She begins.

I nod, letting the humor of the situation fade.

"Yes, I feel better, thank you Chisato." I tell her in earnest. "Where did you learn to use your Chakra like that?" I ask.

"In the academy, I found I have a talent for medical procedures, and they taught me more then the standard Medic practices."

_I think I get it now, the reason her abilities in combat are so limited is because she knows about healing people, rather then causing those wounds…_

"I've been meaning to ask, where did you pick up that expansion technique that you used to bind Ishikawa-sensei?"

"It's something my family uses, a secret technique that we keep."

I nod.

"I understand; where is Ishikawa-sensei?" I ask. "He left to fight a Jounin, and he hasn't come back…"

"Excuse me." I hear the Ambassador ask. "But aren't the three of you supposed to be protecting me?"

Chisato nods and Himeko agrees.

"Sorry, we had to see to the wounds Tsuzaku got while protecting you." She says simply.

The three of us stand up, and I pick my shirt up and put it on my chest, then I put the sword sheath back on my body, and I grab the sword from the ground, sheathing the blade over my shoulder.

"Well, I guess all we can do is wait." I say, approaching the Ambassador.

"Where is this Sensei of yours?" The Ambassador asks. "Why would he take so long?"

I shrug.

"I don't think sensei would lose to a ninja from this place." I say simply.

I feel the movement in the trees, and I look to see our sensei standing there, and he leaps down, landing near the four of us…

I grab a kunai from my pouch, and hold it up.

"Stop!" I tell him, pointing the knife at him.

_He could be a clone, and I could tell if I used my Sharingan, but…_

"What are you doing, I'm not a clone you idiot." He tells us.

"Himeko!" I shout. "Can you tell us if this is a clone or not?" I ask.

She moves next to me, and I see the veins around her eyes bulge.

"It's okay, he isn't a clone." She tells me.

I lower the knife, and I place it back into the pouch.

"I told you stupid brat, why'd you have to question me?" Our sensei asks, approaching us.

"I see that you don't have any cuts or marks, was that Jounin really that weak?" Himeko asks.

He shakes his head.

"That guy was something else, but what happened to this one?"

"Tsuzaku killed him." Chisato says.

"What'd you do?" He asks.

I shrug.

"I don't know; I really don't know…"

"What did you two see?" He asks Himeko and Chisato.

"He LOOKED at the Jounin, and the Jounin stopped in his tracks, and froze like something terrible was happening to him." Chisato explains. "And then, he just threw the kunai and killed him."

Ishikawa looks at me, and I avoid his gaze.

"What are you?" He asks me. "How did you do that?"

I shake my head.

"I really don't know, I honestly don't know."

He shakes his head.

"Well, we'll talk about this when we arrive at the Waterfall Village." Ishikawa-sensei says. "Any injuries or objections?" He asks.

I raise my hand.

"I had a kunai shoved through my right shoulder, but it missed the meat of my shoulder, and Chisato managed to deal with most of the injuries before you even arrived here, so I wouldn't worry about it too much." I explain.

He shrugs.

"If you aren't worried about it, then I'm not even going to bother even thinking about it." He tells me.

I nod, and the five of us leave the area with the Ambassador in the middle of our group, and I can tell that he's worried, about more assassins, and about what I did to that Jounin…

_What did I do to that poor guy? I just LOOKED at him without even using a hand sign, and he looked like he was so afraid that he might just die from what he was seeing. I don't understand what was going on, I still don't even know what's happening to me, but no matter what, I protected Himeko, as long as she's still alive, I don't have any reason to worry. I just hope that power never turns on her; I could never forgive myself if it did…_

"Tsuzaku, are you all right?" I hear her ask.

I blink, coming out of my daze…

"Yeah, I'm fine." I tell her. "I was just thinking about something."

She moves back, letting Chisato and the Ambassador get ahead of us.

"You mean; what you did to that Jounin?"

I nod solemnly.

"Yeah, it has me worried about what happened to him, I honestly don't know what happened."

"You mean; your eyes have never been like that?" She asks.

"You mean; my eyes weren't just the Sharingan?" I ask her.

She shakes her head.

"I got a look at them with my Byakugan, and they didn't have those little dots in them anymore, they were like a black whirlpool that came out of your pupils…" She tells me.

_What? I've never heard of anything like that ever happening to my eyes, or anything else…_

"I really don't know what happened to me." I say again.

"So, you don't know about that black chakra?" She asks.

_Black chakra, what the hell is she talking about?_

"Black chakra, what are you talking about?" I ask.

"Well, right after you got stabbed and fell to the ground, a black chakra started coming out of your body, and normally, your chakra isn't that color." She tells me.

_I know, normally I have an orange color to my chakra, so where does this black stuff come from?_

"I honestly don't know what's happening to me, nothing like this has ever happened to me before, and the black chakra has never come out of me before, so I honestly don't know what's happened to me." I tell her.

She shrugs.

"If you don't know, then I don't know either, but I'll be beside you the whole way, so if you ever need to talk to someone, I'll be here for you."

I nod.

"Thank you, Himeko, I really appreciate it." I tell her, smiling.

The five of us continue to walk with the Ambassador, and we keep a watch around as the Ambassador looks around nervously, like he's trying to look for the next threat to appear, even though we already took out two Jounin assigned to kill him…

"Think we should stop for the night?" The Ambassador asks, as night begins to fall.

Ishikawa-sensei stops and turns around, looking at the four of us.

"Do you three want to stop, or do you want to keep going for the night?" He asks the three of us.

"We should stop." I speak up. "It's getting late, and with the three of us exhausted from the fight with the Jounin, and not to mention you're probably exhausted as well, Ishikawa-sensei." I explain.

He looks at Himeko and Chisato.

"What about you two, if you think we should keep going, then we will."

Himeko nods.

"We should stop, we all need to rest."

Chisato agrees.

"Rest would do everyone good, especially with Tsuzaku's wounds not fully closed yet." She says. "So we should stop now." She tells the group.

Our Sensei nods; and we spread out, going into our backpacks and getting our tents out, and setting them up over the area, and finally when we finish, there are four tents; and five of us…

"Well, we've got our tents set up, but there are five of us, and only four tents, since it looks like the Ambassador didn't bother to pack one." He explains.

The three of us look at each other, and I sigh heavily…

"He can take mine." I volunteer. "I'll sleep outside."

Ishikawa-sensei gives a conceited grin.

"Well, that solves the problem as far as I'm concerned." He says.

I sigh and I look up at the night sky, and I can see the stars in the sky, and a minor fire burns, set up by one of us during the time we spent setting up our tents.

"Looks like I'm sleeping out here tonight." I say simply.

I hear Himeko speak up.

"If you want, I'll let you use my tent." She says.

I look at her and I shake my head.

"I couldn't let you just take my place outside." I tell her. "That wouldn't be right."

She shakes her head.

"I didn't mean that I had to go outside." She says. "I've got enough room for two people in my tent, so as long as you're okay with it, you could just sleep in my tent…"

_Did she just ask me what I think she did, and that blush, it couldn't be?_

"Well, I guess if you don't mind me being there…"

She nods.

"That's the end of the discussion then." She tells me.

I don't open my mouth again, because I know it's pointless to argue with her…

_Once she has her mind made up, there isn't any stopping her, I know that just as well as anyone…_

"Well, it's getting late, and we all need to rest, so I'll take the first watch, the rest of you get to sleep." Ishikawa tells us.

We all nod, and the four of us enter the tents, and Himeko and I go into her tent, as the Ambassador enters the tent I set up…

Her tent is somewhat big, and does have enough room for two people our size, the only problem is that we'll be laying next to each other…

"You sure you want to do this?" I ask. "I'm perfectly fine with sleeping outside."

She shakes her head.

"I'm not going to just let you sleep outside, it isn't right that you should suffer because that idiot wasn't smart enough to bring a tent." She tells me, insulting the Ambassador.

I shrug.

"No matter what; I'll sleep on the tent floor, you sleep under the blankets, and I'll sleep on the floor."

She nods.

"All right then, I'll live with that." She tells me.

She climbs into her sleeping bag, and I take mine from my pack, and I set it on the tent floor like a rolled up pillow, putting my head on it, and I close my eyes as I lay down. As I lay there I manage to fall asleep as I lay there, and after 4 hours, I feel something shake me.

"Tsuzaku, can you wake up?" I hear Himeko ask.

I open my eyes, and I see her kneeling there.

"What is it?" I ask groggily. "Are we under attack?"

She shakes her head no.

"No, we aren't, but I want to ask you a favor."

"What?" I ask, still half asleep.

"I want to train with you." She tells me.

_Train with me, what?_

At first, I don't respond right away, as I can't think of answer to give to her…

"What do you need me to train you on?" I ask. "You're already strong."

She shakes her head.

"I'm not really that powerful, and I need help with combat skills, and if you could teach me that technique you used to kill that Jounin, I'd really appreciate it."

I shake my head, rubbing my eyes.

"I don't know what technique that was, and I couldn't teach it to anyone." I tell her.

"Well, my ninjutsu and taijutsu need work, and you can at least teach me some ninjutsu, can't you?"

I nod.

"I could, but I don't know that many, so my repertoire is rather limited."

She shakes her head.

"That's okay; I can use all the help I can get."

I shrug my shoulders.

"Okay, if you insist."

I get up, grunting as I do, and I leave the tent, and she follows suit, the two of us standing in the clearing, a fire still burning…

_I guess Ishikawa-sensei kept the fire burning during his watch, as evidenced by the small sticks that are lying near the fire…_

"Well, what do you want me to teach you?" I ask.

"What ninjutsu can you do that are useful?" She asks.

_Useful ninjutsu, well, this one is really useful, since it's a defensive technique._

"I know one that allows you to make a wall in front of you out of mud that you spit up from your stomach, using Earth Style chakra and combining it with your spit." I tell her.

She gains a disgusted look.

"That sounds, disgusting." She tells me. "It must taste horrible."

I shake my head.

"It actually doesn't taste that bad." I tell her. "It doesn't turn to mud until after it leaves your mouth, as long as you use it right." I tell her.

She nods.

"Okay, show me then."

I nod, putting my hands together, focusing my chakra…

I make the hand signs, slowly and deliberately, and when I make the last sign, I name the technique.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu!" I yell.

I spit out, and I feel the spit leave my mouth, and the earth style chakra mixes with my spit and forms mud, and I manipulate that chakra to form a five foot high wall, roughly a foot thick. I let it sit there for a moment, and then I undo the jutsu, the mud falling to the ground.

"That's it?" She asks.

I nod.

"Yeah, that's it, all you have to do is work at it, and you'll have a way to defend yourself from most physical attacks." I tell her.

She nods, and I watch her make the hand signs, and she focuses, and then spits up, attempting to use the jutsu, but only spit comes up.

"Crap…" She mutters.

I shake my head.

"Have you ever used Earth Style before?" I ask. "Because using that form of chakra is different from other types of chakra, just like fire requires anger, and water requires calmness."

"So, what does Earth Style need?"

"You have to be unmoving, absolutely sure of yourself." I tell her. "You can't have any doubts or be unsure of anything." I tell her.

She nods, and I can see the resolution on her face.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall Jutsu." She says, making hand signs.

She finishes the hand signs, and I see her spit up, and I can tell that she's mixed the chakra, and I see the mud land on the ground, and I watch as she controls the chakra and forms it into a wall…

"Good job." I tell her.

She nods, and I watch as the wall shatters, and she stands up.

"You need to work on that." I tell her, yawning. "Just keep practicing, and by the time it's my turn to take watch, you should be somewhat good at it."

She nods, and I walk back into the tent, laying back down on the tent floor, I put my head on the sleeping bag and I close my eyes, feeling sleep come ever so quickly, and I smile as I go to sleep.

I don't know how many hours pass but I feel someone shake me, and I open my eyes to see Himeko kneeling over me.

"It's your turn to take watch." She says. "Please."

I nod, getting up and I walk out of the tent, and I stop to see her lay down and fall asleep, and I grin as I walk away and close the tent behind me.

_Well, now it's my turn to take the watch and make sure that everything is going to be okay…_

I stand there, and I try to think about what I can do to pass the time until everyone wakes up…

_What the hell can I do to pass the time until everyone wakes up, I could practice my jutsu, and I could try using that Shadow Clone thing that Ishikawa-sensei used earlier to protect the ambassador, but I didn't witness it with my Sharingan active, and I don't think I want to use that power again…_

I look down at my right hand, and I clench my fist, thinking back to what happened when that Jounin attacked and wounded me, and I try to remember exactly what was happening…

_He stabbed me with that knife, and then everything gets hazy, like a fog came over my mind. Himeko says a black chakra started coming out of my body, so what could that black chakra be, and what about what she said about my eyes, she said they turned into black whirlpools, rather then the dots in them…_

"What the hell happened to me then?" I ask myself. "And what can I do to prevent that from happening again?" I ask myself.

_If Himeko hadn't yelled out, then I don't know what would've happened to her, I felt as though I would've killed her without a second thought if she hadn't knocked me out of that…_

"You want to know what happened to you." I hear Ishikawa-sensei ask.

I spin around and I see him standing in the shadows, and he walks forward, his arms crossed.

"Do you know what it is that happened to me?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"No, but I think that I can teach you to control that black chakra that Himeko mentioned." He tells me.

"Black chakra, how do you know about that?"

He smiles.

"I heard her talking to you about it, so I've been thinking about what to do about it, and there's a technique that I could teach you to use that would make a great use of that black chakra."

"If it will prevent me from doing something like that again, then I'll gladly learn it." I tell him.

He grins.

"Even with that Sharingan of yours, you'll still have to work and practice to use this technique effectively." He tells me.

I nod.

"Please, teach it to me!"

He grins.

"All right then, let me see that Sharingan of yours." He tells me.

I look away from him.

"Don't you think you could teach me, without me using that power?"

He gives me a puzzled expression.

"Why don't you want to use that power you have, it's an incredibly powerful dojutsu, so why not use it?"

I shake my head.

"That thing earlier happened when I was using the Sharingan, if I'm not using it, then I've never felt anything like that."

He shakes his head.

"Are you afraid?" He asks, taunting me. "Is it possible that you aren't anywhere near the shinobi I thought you were?" He asks.

"Sensei, I don't want to kill you, and if I use the Sharingan, during the training, I might have a relapse."

He mutters to himself in disgust.

"You aren't going to kill me, so just use your bloodline power."

"If you think it'll be okay, then I don't have any problems." I tell him.

I close my eyes, and I open them, calling the Sharingan up into my eyes.

"Well, well, well, looks like you've got two in each eye now, rather then one in your left, and 2 in your right."

I shrug.

"Whatever; just show me this new technique!" I tell him.

He grins.

"Let's just see what you're capable of…

Three hours pass…

Both of us stand across from each other, and both of us are breathing heavily, and we're both heavily exhausted…

"There, you've got the technique down; now all you have to do is continue to practice it." He says. "However, there's one other thing I forgot to tell you about this Jutsu." He says. "Until you've fully mastered it, you can only use it when you absolutely have to." He tells me.

I nod, closing my eyes and the Sharingan recedes.

"Yeah, I got it." I tell him.

I can feel my chakra is completely drained, and I look down at the ground, and I think about the training…

_That was insane, that jutsu takes so much chakra…_

"By the way, there's one last thing." He speaks up.

"What is it?" I ask.

"I wanted to tell you that even I haven't perfected the use of this technique." He says. "It consumes too much of my chakra to use, and I can't seem to control it properly, so if you can master this jutsu, you'll have surpassed me in this department."

I shake my head.

"I'll try sensei, have you taught this jutsu to Chisato or Himeko yet?" I ask.

He shakes his head no.

"Nope, I haven't taught this jutsu to any of them, I don't think they'll be able to use this technique, and I don't think they'll ever need to." He explains.

"You're telling me that they won't be able to use this Jutsu?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"I didn't say they can't use the Jutsu, I said they don't need to use it, because they already have enough on their plate, and you're a little better at picking up new techniques then they are, with that Sharingan of yours."

As I sit there, I look at my sword lying on the ground…

"You know, you really should discard that blade." He tells me.

"What?" I ask. "Why would I do that?"

"Because, your abilities with Taijutsu are great, and that sword only seems to slow you down more then anything else, and other then that fire sword technique you've got, it doesn't seem to help you."

I shake my head.

"I'll continue to use this sword, because I always have, and I'm not going to just drop it like trash."

He shrugs.

"It's your choice, though I'm not going to demand that you do it." He tells me.

I get to my feet, and I put the sheath over my shoulder and have it rest against my right shoulder.

"Well, we should be waking them up, shouldn't we?" I ask.

He nods as he stands.

"Yeah, we should, would you wake them up, I have to take a look around, make sure everything's okay." He tells me.

I nod.

"All right then." I tell him.

I walk from where I am to each tent, shaking the tent and yelling at the occupant.

"Time to get up, we need to get underway." I say to each of the people.

I hear groans from each of the occupants, and in a few minutes, each of the genin and the Ambassador leave their tents, and he walks away from his tent and I start taking the tent down, and after 15 minutes, I have the tent packed up and put in my bag…

"I'm ready to go." I say simply.

The others all pack their tents up as well, and when we all finish, the Ambassador looks at us with an air of superiority about him.

"Are you all done yet?" He asks with a snooty tone…

_This asshole, he drops the bomb on us that his own village is trying to have a civil war, and we're caught in the middle, and yet he still continues to act like we're part of the unwashed masses that have no business talking to him…_

"Where's Ishikawa-sensei?" I ask to the other three.

Himeko and Chisato shrug.

"I don't know, weren't you the last one to talk to him before he took off?"

I nod.

"He only said he was going to go check things out, I didn't think he'd be gone this long."

There's a puff of smoke, and I go for my sword, and then I realize who it is…

_God, can't he just make a normal entrance for once?_

"Well, I'm finished with our reconnaissance, and everything looks all right, so let's get going."

We all start off toward the village, and the five of us walk with the ambassador in the middle of the three of us.

"Sensei, how much longer until we arrive at the village, you said it wasn't that far when we left Konoha?" Chisato asks.

"We should get there before nightfall today, barring any other attacks by Waterfall Shinobi." Ishikawa tells us.

I nod.

"Well, at least we're close, but that only means that more Waterfall Shinobi will try to kill us, because we're closer to the village."

Ishikawa nods.

"You're right, and once we arrive at the village, we'll have more problems because we'll be closer." He explains.

I shake my head.

"We should finish this trip, as quickly as possible." I say simply, and the other genin of the group agree with me with a nod…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Village Hidden In the Waterfall.

We manage to make our way to the village without another attack, and when we arrive at the village's location, the four of us look around, staring at the large waterfall in front of us.

"So, where is the village?" I ask, standing on the side of the river that the waterfall feeds into.

The Ambassador grins.

"You think it's called the Village Hidden in the Waterfall for no reason, right?" He asks sarcastically.

"How about you tell us where the village is then?" Chisato demands.

He lifts each leg, one at a time, and takes his shoes off, and then after he lays then down on the river side, he walks into the river and I see him tread into the ankle high water and stop in the middle of the river.

"Normally, you can't get to the village because the water runs too fast in front of the entrance for someone to get through." He explains. "However, there's a system in place that can open the entrance to the village."

He reaches into the water and I see him literally push a rock down, and I hear the sounds of rock shifting. I look toward the waterfall, and I see a rock emerge from the waterfall, and the rock is shaped like a giant triangle, and it diverts the water away from a large cave that leads back into the plateau…

_Incredible, what ingenuity…_

I watch as the waterfall is diverted, and he walks out of the river, and picks up his shoes, putting them on his feet.

"Shall we go now?" He asks.

I can't help but give him a dirty look as he leads us through the cave, and we follow him back through the tunnel and after 30 or so feet, and we come to large cavern at the end of the tunnel, and what's inside blows my mind…

_The village, it's inside this large cavern, every bit of it!_

The village has torches hanging from the ceiling, and they illuminate the entirety of the inside of the cavern…

"This is incredible." I say simply.

"Of course it is." The Ambassador shoots back. "Our village is an advanced village, and we're smarter then you think we are."

I shake my head.

"I meant not disrespect to you or this village." I say simply. "I've just never seen anything like this at all."

Ishikawa-sensei speaks up.

"Keep your cool, while this is impressive; we're on a mission, so don't get caught up in all this." He tells the three of us.

We all nod, and the five of us walk toward the village gates, which looks a lot like Konoha, including the fact that it's walled, with high 30 foot walls made of stone that are meant to protect the village. We approach the main gate, and the two shinobi guards stand in front of us, blocking our way.

"Who are you, and what's your business with our village, Leaf Shinobi?" The guard asks.

_Both of them are dressed like Chunin from our village, and they've got their headbands on their heads, I guess that's to be expected…_

"My name is Ishikawa Masakazu." Our sensei gives his introduction. "And my squad and I are escorting Hirosaki Fumiyama, an Ambassador from your village to our Village Hidden in the Leaves." He explains.

"Let us see the Ambassador." He says simply.

_Jeez, our villages just signed a treaty with each other, and yet they're treating us like enemies…_

Sensei stands aside, and the Ambassador steps forward.

The guard who spoke looks toward the other guard, and I watch as he closes his eyes, and then opens them, and what I see in his eyes, I quickly call up my Sharingan, and I manage to see the dojutsu as the Shinobi uses it…

His eyes have lost their pupil, using a form of dojutsu that I've only heard rumors about…

_That's the Mirugan, or the Seeing Eye, a dojutsu that hardly sees any use anymore because of the strain the jutsu puts on the user's chakra, and only the small benefit that it gives…_

The guard looks at the Ambassador, and then to each of us, and I blink, turning my Sharingan off before the guard can get to me…

"They're good." He says, closing his eyes. "They're all for real."

_That dojutsu, I can't believe anyone still uses it…_

"All right, you can pass." The older one says.

The gates open, and the five of us walk inside the village, the Ambassador leading the way.

"Hey, sensei, did you recognize that dojutsu?" I ask.

He nods.

"So, you've heard about it to." He responds.

Both Himeko and Chisato have a strange, puzzled expression on their faces.

"You mean; that thing with his eyes wasn't a bloodline limit?" Himeko asks.

Ishikawa shakes his head no.

"It isn't a bloodline limit, but rather a secret jutsu that hasn't been used in a long time, and it doesn't see much use because of the drain on the user's chakra, and the rather limited benefits it gives the user."

"What does it do?" Chisato asks.

"It allows the user to see through transformation jutsu and other illusions that aren't targeting them." He says. "When you develop it, you can see the person's internal organs, so some older medic ninja use it to see internal injuries."

Chisato gives me a glance, and then looks back toward our sensei.

"Well, what's going to happen when we arrive at our destination?" I ask.

He shrugs.

"That really depends on the situation." He explains. "I'd like the three of you to train yourselves and become stronger, that way you'll be better prepared for what's coming." He explains.

"And what is coming, exactly?" I ask.

"Well, a civil war." He says simply.

The five of us make our way to the Ambassador's house, a large mansion that could easily house 50 people and you wouldn't have to have 2 people in the same bedroom.

_That has got to be the biggest house I've ever seen, much less been in…_

"What do you think?" The Ambassador asks as we enter his home.

The place is decorated lavishly, and I can't help but sympathize with the rebels for a moment…

_This asshole has all this money and this entire house, and most of the other people in the village are at near poverty, it's no wonder they want to revolt, it's just for all the wrong reasons…_

"So Mr. Ambassador, if this village doesn't have that many ninja to send out on missions, where did all the money for this large home come from?" I ask.

He grins.

"This house has been in my family for generations, and we've always been wealthy." He explains.

"And you never bothered to try to help out those not as wealthy as you?" I shoot at him.

He grins.

"I employ many people in this house as maids and chefs, and I'm paying them all well." He shoots back.

_God, I hate this asshole, he acts so superior!_

"Tsuzaku, we have other business to take care of." Ishikawa sensei tells me.

I nod.

"Can you please show me the nearest large open area that we can use?" Ishikawa asks him.

He smirks.

"There's a courtyard out back with an open area and some trees." He tells us.

We all follow our teacher as he navigates the home and take the four of us out back to the courtyard that he mentioned, and I can see artificial sunlamps casting an orange glow on the courtyard.

"Well, here's what I want the three of you to do." He explains. "The three of you all have your own skills and abilities." He explains. "But, you can all work on your Chakra control, and at first, I want you to work on climbing these trees without using your hands."

I grin, and I look to Chisato and Himeko, and I can see that they're grinning as well.

"Sensei, we already learned this." Chisato says. "We were taught this academy."

He raises his eyebrows.

"Show me then." He responds to the three of us.

We all make a simple hand sign to focus our chakra, and then the three of us take off up the trees, and we all climb to near the top of the trees, and we all stand on the main trunk of the tree, and we look down at our sensei.

"Is this high enough?" We all ask at the same time.

He grins.

"You three can come down now." He explains.

As the three of us jump down from the trees and land on our feet, he approaches us.

"I wasn't aware that they taught Genin to climb trees in the academy now." He explains.

I nod.

"It's a recent practice." I respond. "As order by Lord Hokage, as a means to further prepare genin for the real world of shinobi."

He shakes his head.

"To prepare you for the 'real world' of shinobi, they teach you to climb trees?" He asks.

"Well, that's supposed to be the reason, but either way, it's a nice skill to know."

He nods.

"Well, you all seem fully capable of controlling your chakra to some extent, so I guess you need to train yourselves, and learn from each other." He says. "And I should work with you Himeko." Ishikawa says. "I've already trained a bit with Tsuzaku, and I think you could benefit from my training too."

Himeko nods; and I can tell she's just a bit disappointed that she isn't going to get to train with Chisato and me. She walks to the far section of the courtyard with Ishikawa-sensei, and Chisato looks at me.

"That Sharingan of yours, doesn't it let you use techniques that you've seen as your own?" She asks.

I nod, giving her a puzzled look.

"Yes, but what does that matter, they're just copies?" I ask.

She smiles.

"That Mirugan, do you think you could teach me how to use it?"

I sigh under my breath.

"I can tell you how to use the technique; show and tell you what you have to do with your chakra, but I don't know if I can teach you exactly how to use the technique, only copy it."

She nods.

"That doesn't matter, just teach me how to use that jutsu, and I'll work on it from there."

"Fine, but only on one condition, I want you to train me to use my chakra to at least close a wound." I tell her.

"You mean; you want me to teach you to close holes in your skin with your chakra?"

I nod.

"Yes, I want to know how to do that, that way I can fix myself up in the field without having to worry about bleeding to death."

She nods.

"I'll teach you, but sometimes closing a wound without proper attention is a bad thing." She says. "You have to be careful."

"I understand." I respond.

"All right, first, show me how to use the Mirugan." She tells me.

I nod, calling the Sharingan up.

"First, you have to focus your chakra into your eyes, concentrating carefully, because if you don't, you could damage your ocular nerves." I explain.

She makes a hand sign, using the most common hand sign where only your pointer and middle fingers are extended on both hands, and your hands touch.

"Okay." She tells me.

"Then, you have to expand that chakra within your eyes." I tell her. "Use the chakra to grab your pupil, and then enlarge the pupil within your eyes so you can take everything in, and expand it to the point where it covers your entire eye."

She nods, and she closes her eyes, and I can see her concentrate and focus her chakra within her eyes, and she opens her eyes, and I can see she's expanded her pupils and nearly covered her entire eye…

"Good, Chisato." I tell her, and she closes her eyes, and then grasps at the sides of her head.

"Damn, that's hard…" She mutters.

I smirk.

"I told you." I tell her. "Ishikawa sensei said people don't use that jutsu because it doesn't give that many benefits, and it's a drain on the user's chakra."

She nods.

"I know, but I'll master this jutsu, so now all I have to do is show you how to close a wound."

I nod.

"Yeah, all you have to do is give yourself a paper cut or something and I'll watch you close it with my Sharingan, and then I'll be able to copy and mimic the action."

She nods, pulling a kunai from her pouch and then pokes her right pointer finger with it.

"Like this." She says.

I call the Sharingan up and I watch her use her chakra to pull the skin closed and seal the wound, assisting her body's natural ability to heal with her own chakra, and when she's done, she looks at me.

"Did you get all that?" She asks.

I nod, turning the Sharingan off.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it."

She shakes her head.

"Don't worry about it, now I need to train myself, and you should too."

"Yeah…" I agree, grasping the hilt of the sword. "I need to work on my sword techniques."

I move away from her, and I draw the blade, holding it in front of me.

_My ninjutsu skills are excellent for a Genin, and I've never really liked using genjutsu, and my taijutsu is already honed in the form of hand to hand combat, so I just need to work on my sword techniques…_

I start swinging the sword around, practicing my technique as Himeko works with Ishikawa and Chisato works on whatever it is she's doing…

_I have to do better, I have to get stronger and faster, I can't keep this level of strength! _

I keep working, and I swing the sword again and again and I keep working at it, and eventually I hear Ishikawa's voice come into my ears.

"I can teach you a sword technique; that might help you out, if you ever need to use it." He tells me.

I nod, stabbing the blade into the ground.

He extends his hand.

"If you let me see your sword, you can use your Sharingan to learn the technique, and then you can master it until we're needed."

I nod, stepping away from the sword, and I call the Sharingan into my eyes.

"It's called Dance of the Crescent Moon." He says.

I watch as he pulls the blade from the ground, and then I see him make three clones using a Shadow clone jutsu, and then he charges, using a complicated pattern of sword movements that would normally confuse the average opponent…

The blades stop above my skin, and he looks at me.

"That's the technique at its basics, but you've got to master it, understand?"

I nod.

"Yes, Sensei." I say simply.

He hands me the blade back, and I take the sword from him, and I continue to start working on mastering the technique…

_I just have to master this, and I'll have one more weapon up my sleeve…_

I keep working, and I continue to develop the technique that Ishikawa-sensei just taught me…

_Jeez, the amount of chakra that this jutsu takes is insane, because this technique is actually a variation of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and requires the use of that jutsu; it makes it stressful on the user's chakra…_

I continue to train all day, and when I feel nearly exhausted, and I end up falling on my butt…

"Jeez…" I mutter, sitting down, the sword stuck in the ground in front of me.

"You wear yourself out?" I hear Chisato's voice behind me.

I nod.

"Yeah, I used too much of my own chakra, and I think I overdid it." I say.

I see her sit down next to me, and I watch her look at Himeko, and I can see her watching the girl intently.

"What do you think about Himeko, and what she's doing with Ishikawa-sensei?" She asks.

I shrug.

"She's doing what she thinks is best, and we all should follow her example." I respond.

"I meant about the way she fights." She responds. "I've never once seen her punch anyone and the people she does beat up, they always end up coughing up blood or just passing out, I don't think she's ever broken anyone's bones, either as a ninja with us, or during the academy."

I give her a curious look.

"You mean; you were watching what she was doing during our days at the academy?" I ask her.

She nods.

"The daughter of one of Konoha's most proud and noble clans, with a long standing tradition behind her, how could other students not follow her and examine what she's doing during her time as a student, and when she's doing other things."

I shake my head.

"Even I've heard about the Hyuga family, and what they're capable of, but I don't think that it's right to analyze her movements and her actions like she's some sort of public figure or something, and I don't think she wants to be put in that situation."

Chisato shakes her head.

"Well it doesn't matter what she wants or doesn't want." Chisato tells me. "She's the heir to a powerful and well known clan, so she has to expect being watched, it's the nature of those born with talent."

"What about me?" I ask. "Haven't I shown talent as a shinobi?" I ask.

She nods.

"You've shown great promise as a shinobi, though what happened with that Jounin, that chakra that came off of your body, and the jutsu you used to beat him, all of that scares the living hell out of me Tsuzaku, and I'm not afraid to say that part of you scares me."

_That part of me eh, I don't even know what that was when that Jounin got killed, I really don't…_

"So, do you know anything about what you did to that guy?"

I shake my head.

"I have no idea what I did to that guy, and if I did, I'd be training to master that power, because that technique would be infinitely more useful then what I'm learning now."

"What were you trying to learn?" She asks.

"A sword technique, to give my sword skills some flair, and make my carrying the blade worth it, rather then just getting the crap kicked out of me, and having to rely on my taijutsu." I explain

She shakes her head.

"How did you learn to fight, who taught you taijutsu?" Chisato asks.

"The guy who taught me to fight…" I mutter. "He was the guy who ended up raising me, and it's during one of the training sessions with him that I first used the Sharingan, and that's how I learned about the kekkei genkai, although the man who raised me would never tell me what it was, other then the name, and when I asked why, he merely told me that the kekkei genkai needed to be forgotten, and that I was lucky that I was born with such a unique talent."

She nods slowly.

"Did you ever think that the guy who taught you all this wasn't your father?"

I nod.

"I knew from the time when I was five, I guess I'm just a well adjusted guy, but he never really came out and told me until after I found the Sharingan, and even then, just judging from his appearance and mine, I could tell that we weren't father and son."

"Really, how could you?"

I point to my eyebrows.

"His eyebrows, they were so bushy and thick, there wasn't anyway someone without them could be his child." I say with a smirk.

She giggles, and I see the laughter breaks the near solemn serious mood between us, and she looks back at me with a relaxed expression.

"You know, when I first met you, I thought you were exactly like what Ishikawa-sensei thought of you." She says. "Your scores in the academy where horrible, and not to mention you never really spoke or showed off, so when I got teamed with you, I felt like I'd been cheated." She explains. "And then sensei gave us that test, and you were willing to sacrifice yourself so that the two of us could go on, and that sort of reinforced that opinion of you in my mind."

"What do you think of me now?" I ask, looking toward Himeko and Ishikawa-sensei, watching the two of them train.

"I think that you're really much stronger then you're letting on, and if you could learn to master that technique you used against that Jounin, I don't have any doubts that you'd become a Jounin, or even Hokage!"

I shake my head.

"My goal was never to be Hokage or even a Jounin for that matter, I just want to go out into the world and find my father, I don't care if I'm Jounin, Genin, or Chunin, and I just want to find him."

She nods.

"What will you do when you find your dad, why are you looking for him?"

I shrug.

"I don't know, I guess I'd question him, ask him why he abandoned me, and if he doesn't answer, then I'd fight him."

"Would you kill him, just to get your answer?"

I nod.

"Even if I did find him, I don't care about him, I care about the man who raised me, the one who treats me like his son, even though I'm not." I explain in a cold tone. "And the only reason I want to find him is so I can get answers to my questions, and if he won't supply them, then he's of no use to me."

"So you'd commit patricide, just like that, without even batting an eye about it?"

I nod.

"I told you, I'm really well adjusted, and it takes a lot to affect me, so I don't think murdering my biological father with my own hands would affect me that much."

She shakes her head.

"I can't understand you." She says simply. "When you're talking to Himeko, I can see a happy smile on your face, and when she was being threatened by that Jounin, you acted like your world would end if she died, you put your life on the line to protect her, and yet you can sit there and say that you're willing to murder your own father, and that you really don't even care about it."

I shake my head.

"Himeko is different, she's special to me, like no one else, she doesn't deserve what's happening to her in life like so many people, and yet she's dealing with it as best she can, and I just want to make that as easy for her as possible."

She sighs in disgust.

"Jeez, what will I ever do with you two?" She asks, and then she stands up, turning to walk back into the Ambassador's mansion.

"Where are you going?" I ask, ignoring her last comment.

"I'm gonna get some food, if you're smart you will too, you never know when that Yamikage or whatever is going to act, so you may as well fight on a full stomach."

I nod, plucking the blade from the ground, and I stare at the sword for a moment, and then I sheath the blade over my right shoulder, letting the sword come to rest in the sheath. I turn to face Himeko and Ishikawa-sensei, and I see the two of them face each other, and then they both lower their arms, indicating that the training session between the two of them is over…

"You two finished?" I yell to them, and they both face me, and Himeko nods, the duo approaching me.

"Yes, Sensei was just helping me with my taijutsu, and I'm starting to feel exhausted, so we both decided I should call it a day." Himeko explains.

"What about you Tsuzaku?" I hear Sensei ask. "Did you manage to master using that technique I showed you?"

I nod.

"I feel confident about it." I respond. "Chisato went inside to the Ambassador's mansion to get some dinner, and I think it's an idea that all of us should take to heart."

Ishikawa sensei nods.

"Agreed, and if we survive tonight, I want the three of you tomorrow to go out into the village and learn the lay of the land." He explains. "That way, if the Yamikage try anything, you'll know where you are as long as you're in the village, and you'll have some chance of losing them." He finishes.

I give a smile, seeing the real reason hidden in his speech.

_He knows that the three of us are mentally and physically exhausted, and he wants us to take a day to rest, however since he knows that the three of us will never just accept a day off, he's telling us to do the least taxing thing he can think of, which is take a leisurely walk around the village and try to memorize various things about it, which shouldn't tax our chakra or our muscles…_

"Yeah." I agree.

Himeko nods.

"I think I'd like that, and the chance to see a foreign land doesn't come along very often."

The three of us walk inside the Ambassador's mansion, and it's easy enough for us to find the dining room, and we end up eating something made by the Ambassador's private chef, and after the meal is finished, we are lead to private bedrooms, one for each of us. I end up laying my sword on the floor, and I lay down on the bed, the room having a large window that I could look out standing up and not have to worry about my line of sight meeting the top of the window.

"Jeez, what a big house, why does he need all this he can't use all of it?" I ask myself, lying on the bed.

I lay there on the bed, and I hear a knock on the door, and I don't even bother to check my watch, and I get up and walk to the door, and I open it, seeing Himeko standing there, wearing a long shirt, and not much else…

"Himeko?" I ask surprised, not really knowing what to say.

She has a blush on her face.

"Do you think that maybe I could…?" She trails, as if looking for the words.

"What's wrong?" I ask. "Do you feel bad or something?"

She shakes her head.

"No, I don't feel bad, it's just that, I'm used to sleeping next to someone, and I don't really feel comfortable with Chisato or Ishikawa-sensei…" She trails.

I shrug.

"You're saying you want to sleep next to me." I tell her, and she nods.

"Yes, I'd really appreciate it if you would let me…"

"Are you sure that's really a good idea?" I ask her. "I mean, look at what I did to that guy earlier, and with that chakra you saw who knows what might happen to you in my sleep?"

She shakes her head.

"I don't think you're going to hurt me, it was when you looked at me when those strange eyes disappeared in your eyes, and you returned to your senses."

I nod.

"If you're okay with it, I can't object, I don't intend on sleeping naked, so there isn't much of a problem."

She nods, and then walks inside, and I watch as she strolls up to the bed and sits down on it, looking around.

"This room, it's exactly like the one I was given." She tells me.

I nod.

"That only makes sense, seeing as how they're probably all identical; he keeps the rooms here for just this purpose." I tell her. "He is an Ambassador after all, so it makes sense."

She pulls the blankets down on my bed.

"Well, we all need to rest, so let's just get to sleep." She tells me.

I nod, moving around the bed, and I get into it on the opposite side as her, and I put my back to her.

"Tsuzaku?" She asks, and I nod.

"What is it, Himeko?"

"Thank you for everything you've done for me."

I shake my head.

"It's fine; I've done everything of my own accord." I tell her.

"I'm going to make sure you find your father." She says. "I'll help you, no matter what."

I sigh heavily.

"You don't need to do that, you don't have to live for another person." I tell her. "Unlike me."

With that, the conversation ends, and I close my eyes, drifting off to sleep…

I dream, a strange dream unlike any I've ever heard before…

I'm standing in the basement of what I can only assume is a dilapidated warehouse or some industrial building. I stand in the middle of a dark corridor, and I can see a strange, purple light at the end of the corridor…

"What is all this?"

A hear a whisper float down the hall, and I can't make out what the voice says.

_What was that; did that voice call to me?_

I take off into a run, moving down the hall with all available speed, and I run into the purple light, and I emerge into what looks like a large prison cell, with bars that separate one half of the room from the other, and I stand on one side, and an ominous feeling comes from the opposite side of the bars…

"What the hell is all this?"

I can see a pair of red dots floating in the air beyond the bars, and I can see 3 black dots in each of the dots, and I realize what it is I'm looking at.

_Those are EYES, they're Sharingan eyes! What the hell is a pair of Sharingan eyes doing in my dream, is this some sort of sub conscious symbol of my father or something?_

"Humph!" I hear a deep male voice come from beyond the bars, and I feel a massive wave of chakra come from the other side and hit me, and I feel like a hurricane wind just hit me in the face. "Don't mistake me for that weakling!" Booms the male voice from beyond the bars...

I put my arms up, feeling the chakra and force in the yell push at me, and I feel my feet slip on the floor, my shoes sliding against the metal. After 10 seconds of that, the force stops, and I lower my arms.

"What is all this?" I ask. "Who the hell are you?" I demand from the voice beyond the bars.

A figure, cloaked in shadow, slowly approaches, and I can only see the red glow of his Sharingan eyes as he stands beyond the light that casts beyond the bars.

"You don't know me?" The evil voice asks. "But surely, you should know me better then anyone else."

I shake my head.

"I don't know what this is, am I even dreaming anymore?" I ask.

I can see a white toothy grin by the thing beyond the bars.

"Tell me, do you think you're dreaming?" It asks, its eyes staring at me…

_Those eyes, it's like he isn't just staring AT me, but THROUGH me…_

"What's the matter?" He asks. "Do my Sharingan bother you?"

"What is this?" I ask again. "WHO are you?"

He doesn't answer my question.

"Do you want power?" He asks. "The power to punish that bastard father of yours for everything he's done?"

_My father, what does he know about my father?_

"What do you know about my father?" I demand. "Do you know where he is?"

His continued smirk annoys me.

"Even if I told you where he was, you don't have the power to even stand in his presence, much less fight him!"

"What are you, how can you know so much about me?"

His grin doesn't even flinch…

"You still asking all those questions, and yet I've never once given you an answer…"

"Tell me god damn it!" I yell.

"Tsuzaku…" I hear Himeko's voice.

I look around quickly, trying to locate the source of the noise…

"Looks like our time together is coming to a close, it is such a shame…" The demon mutters.

"Tsuzaku, wake up!" I hear Himeko's voice again.

My eyes pop open, and I sit up quickly, looking forward and not even thinking about where I am, or the person sitting next to me…

"Tsuzaku, are you all right?" Her voice enters my ears.

I look to my right and I see her sitting on the bed, a concerned expression on her face.

I nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I tell her. "Just a bad dream, that's all."

She gives me a strange look.

"Do you know that your Sharingan is turned on?" She asks.

"What?" I mutter to myself.

I get up and I find my sword on the ground, taking the blade from the sheath, I use the blade as a mirror, and I can see that in fact, the Sharingan is in my eyes…

"Why…" I mutter.

I close my eyes, and I turn the kekkei genkai off, and when I open my eyes, I see my eyes have indeed returned to normal…

"What the hell is going on?" I ask myself, and Himeko speaks up.

"What did you dream about?"

I shake my head.

_If I tell her I was speaking to that thing, and then she'd have me committed in a minute, there isn't any way…_

"I wasn't dreaming about anything, nothing that would pertain to my Sharingan anyway…" I tell her.

_Too bad I'm lying through my teeth…_

I shake my head to try and clear the thoughts, and I look down at my watch…

_Breakfast time, 8:00 am the next day, I guess it's time to get going, we're supposed to go out into the village, and learn my way around the village…_

"We should get some food, and then head out into the village." I tell Himeko.

She shakes her head.

"I guess we should head out." She tells me. "Though, I need to get dressed, and we could all use a shower."

I nod, and she does as well.

"There are bathrooms in each of our guest rooms, so it shouldn't be too hard for us to get clean."

She leaves the room, and as she leaves, I watch her go in the oversized t shirt, and I can't help but think a thought or two as she goes…

_God, why is she interested in me like she is, she can do so much better, yet she keeps coming after me…_

I face the bathroom door in the bedroom, and I walk inside, taking the shirt and other clothes off in the bathroom, and then I get into the shower, turning the water on, I shower quickly, finishing up using supplied soaps. After I shower, I get out and I dry off, and then I dress again, making sure that the clothes don't stink like BO or anything….

_At least my clothes don't smell that bad…_

After I finish dressing, I stand there and I look in the mirror…

"Well, I think I'm cleaned up, I guess breakfast is a good idea."

I leave the room, and I take a few steps down the hall, until a stop at a door that's opened just a crack, and I peek inside to see Himeko inside, and immediately, I pull my face back…

_Jeez, talk about peeking…_

"You almost done?" I ask through the door.

I can nearly see her start of surprise, even though my back is to the door.

"Uh, yeah, I'll be out in a few minutes."

_At least she does what she has to do quickly, or I take a long time, one way or another…_

I wait in the hall with my hands on my hips, and I stand away from the door, not needing a blunt object striking me in the back this early in the morning…

After a few minutes, Himeko emerges, dressed like she always has been…

"Nothing like a pair of clean clothes and a shower to make you feel…" She trails, as if searching for the word. "…Reborn." She finally finishes.

I nod.

"I know how you feel, anyway, we should probably get some breakfast, Chisato is probably already down there."

She nods her agreement, and the two of us walk toward the dining room, knowing full well breakfast will be laid out for us, seeing as how the Ambassador does have a schedule, and we keep up with it, intentionally.

"So, do you think you've gotten anywhere in your training?" She asks me, making conversation.

"I hope so." I tell her. "We can't stay the way we are if we're going to be protecting someone as high profile as this Ambassador, I'm sure they'll send more high level ninja at him this time, and they won't consider failure an option."

She sighs heavily.

"I guess, but it scares me when you put it like that." She tells me. "I don't want to see you get involved in a fight like that one against that Jounin, I don't want to see that look in your eyes…"

_She feels exactly like Chisato does, they were both scared of what I looked like when I killed that Jounin. Hell, I guess its understandable seeing as how I looked at the guy the wrong way and he froze…_

"I'm sorry about that." I tell her. "I really don't know what happened, and I don't want it to happen again."

"I'm just glad you came back to normal, I don't think I could've dealt with you looking like that all the time." She tells me.

"Well I don't want to look like that, I'm not a monster, and I swear I'm not."

"I know Tsuzaku, it's just that…"

We arrive in the dining room together, and I hear Ishikawa-sensei's voice.

"So, you two are acting very chummy, and I checked your rooms last night, and I saw the two of you were together." He tells the two of us, and Chisato sits near him, working on a plate of food, with a grin on her face.

"We were…" I begin, but Himeko cuts me off.

"I've never slept alone before, and I really don't know Chisato that well, so I asked Tsuzaku if he would let me, and he did; and nothing else happened." She defends me.

I shake my head.

"So, you're saying the two of you were alone together all night, and you didn't do anything together?" Ishikawa-sensei asks us.

I nod.

"We didn't do anything with each other." I tell our teacher, telling him the truth. "Himeko belongs to a noble family, and I'm nothing but a dirty orphan, she wouldn't lower herself by touching me." I explain to him, and I see a strange expression pass on his eyes.

"You honestly believe that?" He retorts, cutting her off before she can say anything.

I nod.

"All right then." He says simply, taking a piece of omelet into his mouth.

I walk past the table and I head to the buffet, grabbing a plate and taking some of the omelet, and the bacon and other breakfast foods that were prepared by the Ambassador's personal chef. After I finish serving myself, I sit down at the table, across from our sensei.

"So, are you going to watch the Ambassador today?" I ask.

He nods, and soon enough, Himeko sits down next to me, and starts eating, I see his eyes drift back and forth, and rest on me.

"I will be; the three of you are to get good bearings and become somewhat knowledgeable in the village and where everything is today." He explains.

"And what makes you think we won't be needed to protect the Ambassador?" I ask, eating a slice of bacon.

"The Ambassador has 3 Jounin level bodyguards, in addition to me guarding him today; I don't think he needs 3 more."

I nod.

"So, basically, we're nothing but excess garbage then." Chisato says. "If he's got three Jounin from this village guarding him, then why are we even here isn't that enough?"

He shakes his head.

"The reason we're here is because the Ambassador TRUSTS us." He says simply. "Whereas the three other Jounin who are with him he's never met before, and he doesn't trust them."

"So, why doesn't he protest to having them around if he doesn't trust them then?"

"He doesn't have a choice; the Ninja leader believes these men are trustworthy and that's why they've been assigned to him, however because of the Yamikage and the fact that they're so deeply woven into the village, neither of them knows who to trust."

"Why not bring in more outside help then?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"If a Village leader suddenly starts asking for outside forces from other villages in large numbers, it gives that nation and the other nations reason to worry, the Ninja leader doesn't want this situation to get bigger then it already is, so therefore, we're all that's coming in from anywhere else."

I sigh heavily.

"I hate political crap…" I mutter. "It always complicates things."

He shakes his head.

"Whatever, either way, let's get going, we need to learn about the village, and the sooner we get to it, the quicker we'll finish."

My two teammates nod, and together the three of us leave the Ambassador's house, leaving the grounds, and we start off into the village…

"This place is so nice…" Chisato points out, as we walk down the main street of the village.

The main street of the village is lined with shops and buildings, most of them business complexes, with people going up and down the street, some out doing shopping, others doing other business with the people that call this street home…

"It's smaller then at home." I say simply. "Not nearly as nice either, the whole closed in thing would get on my nerves."

"Really Tsuzaku?" Himeko asks. "You don't like closed in spaces?"

I shake my head.

"They scare me sometimes, it's like being locked up inside something, and I could never stand to be in prison; that would kill me."

Chisato gives me a grin.

"What's wrong, does the big scary monster have a weakness for tight places?" She asks. "I mean really, what kind of ninja is claustrophobic?"

I shrug.

"It's just the way I am, if you don't like it, and then I suggest you deal with it." I tell her.

"I'll deal with it all right…" I hear her mutter, clenching her right fist. "By knocking you out!"

"Now, now…" Himeko begins. "We aren't children here, and can't we just have a nice relaxing walk without you two trying to kill each other?"

"We aren't trying to kill each other." I respond. "If we were, she'd already be dead."

I hear Chisato growl, my comment only adding fuel to her anger.

_Jeez, sensei was right about her, she really has no control over her own emotions, and she lets them affect her judgment in nearly everything. Well, I guess it's to be expected, we are only 12, and you can't ask 12 year olds to control how they feel, no matter how mature they think they are, you can't expect that…_

"Look you two; you have to learn to get along." Himeko says; breaking up the fight before it even begins. "If we're all on the same team, then how do you expect the three of us to work together if we're constantly bickering all the time?"

I shake my head.

"I don't have a problem with Chisato." I defend myself. "She has a problem with me."

"Real mature Tsuzaku." Chisato shoots back. "Blame all your problems on me, when in reality you're the one with the freaky monster inside of you that kills Jounin level ninja without even breaking a sweat."

I shake my head slowly.

"I'm sorry; I didn't even know I could do something like that until then, so stop commenting on it, because I really don't know what to do about it…"

I hear Himeko growl.

"Chisato…" She mutters under her breath, and the other girl turns around.

"What's your problem?" She asks. "Are you defending him?"

She shakes her head.

"You don't know what Tsuzaku is going through, of all of us, the thing he did to that Jounin has hit him the hardest." She says simply. "He tries to hide it, but I can see that it's eating him up inside, it never leaves his mind, even when he's asleep, the thought of that demon reappearing and hurting people never leaves him…"

Chisato gives me a strange, questioning look.

"Is this true?" She asks. "Is what she's saying about you true?"

I nod solemnly.

"Before the Jounin, I never killed anyone before, and it wasn't like I didn't know what was going on, I saw myself doing all those things, and I couldn't stop myself from doing it." I explain. "Like watching a play and the stage is your own eyes, I couldn't do anything to stop myself…"

"You've never killed before?" Chisato asks, and I nod.

"I'd never killed anyone before, and I didn't think it would be so easy for me…" I mutter. "I don't know how you were able to do it so easily, Himeko…"

She shakes her head.

"It's never easy, no matter how many times you do it, you always feel sick about it later." She tells me. "The only reason I did what I did was to protect you." She tells me. "I wasn't thinking about that Chunin's life, and I wasn't thinking about how wrong it is to kill him, I was just thinking about what my life would be like without you, and if I didn't stop him, then we'd all die." She explains.

I shrug.

"I don't know how you did it, but you did, and I can't help but feel my stomach turn every time I think about murdering someone, maybe I just have to come to grips or something, but I can't imagine killing people."

She shakes her head.

"Either way, we're supposed to be learning what the village is like, and where everything is." I say simply.

Chisato shakes her head slowly in frustration.

"This is about the dumbest thing I've ever done, I can't believe that our sensei made us do this, it's about the most remediate thing I've ever done." She says in protest.

"Look." I say, shaking my head. "We're supposed to do what we're supposed to do, so let's just get this over with, and then we can get back to doing what's really important."

The three of us continue to walk around the village, and before long, the eerie calm that seems to waft around the village is broken…

BOOM!

The interior of the cave confines the explosion, as if to amplify the noise. The sound is thunderous, and immediately the three of us look toward the Ambassador's home, and I can see the cloud of smoke emerge from the same location…

"Oh shit…" I mutter.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Coup de Tat

The three of us take off into a run, and we all know what's going on, without a word between us…

_The rebel group is making their attempt on the Ambassador's life, and it's up to us to try and stop them!_

The three of us run at full speed, somehow we all manage to stay with each other, and I hear Chisato speak.

"Ishikawa-sensei should be guarding the Ambassador, and it's our job to find him, so we need to find the Ambassador as soon as possible, and once we do, and then sensei can give us our assignment." She says.

I grimace.

_Sure, if it was that easy. If we do manage to find Ishikawa-sensei without getting killed, then he might just order us to go away, since we're nothing more then genin, and probably just going to get in the way of his protecting the Ambassador…_

"Tsuzaku, you all right?" I hear Chisato ask me.

I nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking about something."

We make our way to the home, and I can see some of the house on fire, the windows broken, and I can hear the sounds of people screaming inside, and the three of us make our way onto the property, the people in the streets yelling and screaming…

_It's no wonder, this group is trying to murder someone, and it isn't any wonder that innocent people are going to get caught up in the violence…_

We enter into the main hallway, and the giant staircase looms over us now, the main hall relatively undamaged by the raid.

"We should split up." Chisato says. "It'll increase our chances of finding Ishikawa-sensei."

I shake my head.

"We need to stick together, that's our only chances of surviving if we run into a Jounin, which are no doubt crawling all over this house."

Himeko nods; and I see Chisato groan.

"Fine then, but I still don't like this, not at all." She tells me.

"That doesn't matter; we need to get going, immediately."

The three of us move into the mansion, and I constantly scan the area, trying to find Ishikawa-sensei.

"Himeko, we could use your Byakugan to find him."

She nods, and I can tell that she's already using her kekkei genkai to try and find him.

"I'm already looking for the Ambassador…" She mutters.

I stop in my tracks, and I extend my arms, telling the other two to stop as well.

"What's going on, Tsuzaku?" Chisato asks.

"There's someone here." I say simply.

Himeko pulls a kunai from her pouch, and assumes a martial arts stance, the knife near her chest, her kekkei genkai still in her eyes.

"There you are!" She yells, throwing the kunai at the wall, and I call the Sharingan into my eyes, and I see what she sees…

There's a puff of smoke, and a Jounin leaps from his hiding spot. He stands in front of us in the hallway, blocking our path. He's wearing a typical Jounin uniform, with a mask that covers his face, his hair short and dark, his eyes a deep blue.

"So, these are the three Outsiders from the Village Hidden in the Leaves?" He asks. "You're nothing but brats, children!" He insults us.

I grasp the hilt of my sword, drawing the blade and holding it in front of me.

"You won't talk down to us!" I tell him.

The girls stand next to me, and the three of us hold weapons, Chisato holds kunai, and Himeko has Shuriken in her hands…

"The three of you at once?" He asks a smirk on his face. "This'll be over in a flash…"

I watch as he prepares to make hand signs, and I take off into a run.

"I don't think so…" I mutter. "Ninja Art: Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

I use the jutsu, creating three shadow clones of myself, and I use to technique to try and confound him, and I watch as his eyes dart between me and my two clones.

"Die!" I yell, bringing the blade down.

I watch as he raises 3 kunai, one with each hand, and a third on his left foot, being held there by chakra, his right leg planted firmly on the ground, chakra holding him to the ground, keeping him upright.

"What the?" I ask him.

He smirks.

"You won't beat me with that simple technique."

He throws my three blades off of his kunai, and then he spins around, using the kunai on his foot like a helicopter blade, and I move back, feeling the knife blade graze my nose, and I can feel the cut going across the bridge of my nose, and then go into my right cheek…

_Damn, he managed to get me, even with my Sharingan; I couldn't read his movements…_

"Die!" He yells.

The kunai drops from his foot, and then he charges forward, holding the knives like daggers, trying to run me through with them. I manage to lose my balance from the attack against my nose, and I back flip in order to regain my balance, and I watch as he comes for me, and I make hand signs with my left hand, grabbing the sword blade just above the hilt…

_Let's see him deal with this, my one original move that I made on my own…_

I flip my right thumb up, releasing a burst of chakra from my thumb up the blade, and when the two chakra mix, the flame ignites, pulling my left hand away just moments before the mix happens, and the blade of the sword lights on fire.

I see his eyebrows move up in surprise.

"Burn!" I yell, pointing the blade at him.

I fire another burst of chakra from my hand, this one causes the flames to shoot down the sword and toward him like a flamethrower. He sees the attack, and I watch as the flame hits him, at least, it looks like it does, but I can see and know better…

I look up, and I raise the blade, seeing him appear overhead, and his kunai meets my sword, the weapons clanging as they meet.

"Damn you…" I hear him mutter.

"You underestimate me." I tell him. "I'm not alone."

Shuriken come flying at him, and he pushes off of me, nearly knocking me down as he dodges the kunai, and he lands farther down the hall…

"Crap…" I mutter, standing there with my sword in hand.

"If you insist on fighting together, then you'll all die together!"

I see him make hand signs, and he does so, so quickly that I can't replicate them with my abilities at my current level.

I charge for him, and I try to slash him with my sword, and I watch as he puts his hands in front of him on the ground.  
"Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!" He yells.

I watch as he spits water from his mouth, and use it to form a wall that my sword cuts into, and doesn't even touch him…

_Crap…_

He comes after me through the wall, and I try to raise my sword to block, and I feel something pull me back, the Jounin missing his target, and Chisato standing behind me.

"You want to play like that, fine, I'll murder you all!"

He starts making hand signs again, and I don't dare to try and attack him.

"Water Release: Dragon Blast Jutsu!" He yells.

I watch as the water he spat out from the earlier wall technique forms into a giant dragon, and my eyes go wide…

"Chisato, Himeko, MOVE!"

They both leap, and I stand there, raising my sword to try and block the attack, and I feel the water literally knock me back, sending me into the wall at the end of the hall, and I feel the water running past me and pushing me against the wall…

_Hell…_

I feel the blood running down my face from the cut, and it mixes with the water.

"Crap…" I mutter.

I fall face first on the ground, and I lay there, feeling like my entire body is thrashed…

_Are you at your limit, you're a disgrace, how can you even think to call yourself Ninja?_

I feel that same chakra begin to flow…

_Whatever you are, I can't fail, and I have to protect Himeko, so HELP ME!_

"All you had to do was ask…" I hear its voice whisper in my ear.

I feel the chakra flow through my entire body, and I can feel the same sensation in my eyes. I feel my legs and arms move, and I stand up, glaring at him with the black chakra flowing through me…

"What the hell just happened?" The Jounin asks. "What's with your eyes?"

"Tsuzaku, is that you?" Himeko asks.

I smile a cold smile.

"Yes, Himeko, it's me, and I've never felt better…" I mutter in happiness, my voice full of cold happiness.

"What are you?" The Jounin asks. "What's with your eyes?"

I continue to smile, the black chakra flowing around me, and I feel like I'm a puppet on a string, my thoughts and my emotions guided toward a single, all consuming goal…

_I'm going to murder this man, and I'm going to enjoy every second of it…_

"Try that again." I tell him, the scar on my face still lightly bleeding. "That Dragon Jutsu, try it again…"

I see a strange puzzled look in his eyes.

"What's with you, why do you want me to do it again?" He demands.

He comes at me, and I watch him coming after me, and I pull a kunai up, blocking his shot. He starts moving around me, and I follow his movements without even breaking a sweat, his knife meeting mine again and again, and then after 10 minutes, he goes back to where he was, standing there.

"I told you, use that Dragon Jutsu again." I tell him again.

"Fine." He says simply. "You wanna die, I don't care." He tells me, and starts making hand signs.

"Now!" He begins. "Water Release: Dragon Blast Jutsu!"

The water around him begins to form, and it takes the shape of a giant dragon, and the dragon comes toward me, and I grin, making quick hand signs, and then holding my right hand in front of my face in an O shape.

_I don't know what I'm doing, but this should be one powerful Jutsu…_

"Die!" I yell.

I exhale a very deep breath from my lungs through my hand, and instead of regular orange fire, a black fire shoots out of the O shape in my hand, and the black fire annihilates the water that forms the Dragon, and it continues down the hallway, the flame burning the walls and floor, and I watch as the Jounin sees my technique coming, but doesn't believe it's true…

"Impossible…" He mutters.

The black fire hits him, and in a single moment, I see his entire body is consumed in the black fire, everything on him burned completely down to the bone, and I watch as the black fire hits the wall at the end of the hall, and incinerates the wall, stopping at the end of the hall and burning on the floor, the fire seemingly burning on nothing…

I feel the black chakra weaken, and I close my eyes, grasping my head, closing my eyes…

"Uh…" I mutter.

I open my eyes, and the black chakra is gone, just as quickly as it came…

"What the hell just happened to me, it felt different then the last time…"

I stare at my right hand for a few moments, and then Himeko's voice enters my ears.

"Tsuzaku, what just happened?"

I look down the hall, and I can see the black fire burning, and feel the heat coming off of the fire, and the two girls approach me.

"Tsuzaku, show me your eyes." Chisato orders me.

I look at her, and I can feel the Sharingan isn't in my eyes, and my own eyes are completely normal.

"Looks like you're you again." She says. "From what I can figure, you're only that monster when your eyes change and look like something I can't even describe."

I shake my head.

"No, this time was different." I say simply.

I can hear Chisato draw breath.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"It was different this time." I tell her. "I wasn't being told to do things I didn't want to do." I explain. "I asked for his help, and I used his power…" I tell them. "He only acted on the desires I had, yet…"

Himeko shakes her head.

"You aren't that monster, and the only person he hurt was that Jounin." She explains. "Either way, we should get going, we have to find Ishikawa sensei."

I take the sword into my hand, and I reach over my shoulder, placing the sword on my back.

"You're right Himeko, we need to get going."

The three of us take off at a run, choosing the hallway that lacks the burning black flame at the end of it, and we go searching, running around the home, trying to get to wherever it is that Ishikawa would be…

_He'd be with the Ambassador; or at least near him…_

We run until we find a pair of large doors, made of wood and look heavy enough to withstand a battering ram…

"Ishikawa-sensei, are you in there?" I yell through the doors.

I hear a voice mumble from the other side.

"How do I know that you're really Tsuzaku?" The voice asks.

"The monster inside me possessed me and I killed a Jounin not too long ago." I say simply. "My Sharingan was all weird too." I explain.

I hear the door lock open, and the doors open with Ishikawa-sensei standing there, holding a kunai in his right hand.

"Is there anyone else there?" He asks.

I shake my head.

"No, just the three of us." I respond.

He motions us in.

"Quickly, get in here!"

The three of us move inside, and he closes the door, locking it behind us.

"It's good that the three of you are still alive." He says, and I look around the room.

The room is basically a large office, easily 60 square feet, with large 10 foot tall windows in the rear, windows which are now covered by metal shutters that now protect the room. The walls are made of concrete, and the Ambassador sits behind his desk, in a leather covered chair, sweat covering his face, and a worried expression makes part of me smile…

"Sensei, what's the situation?" I ask. "How many are there?"

He shrugs his shoulders.

"There are many, probably at least 20 Jounin level ninja, so if you defeated 1, and I took down 3, then that leaves 16 of them roaming the house, and all of them are trying to get here, and to kill this man." He explains.

I shake my head, looking around. I look for anything around the room that may assist us in defending ourselves against the incoming assault…

"The three of you look like you all need some minor treatment." Ishikawa points out. "Chisato, can you do anything?"

She nods, and she approaches me.

"Your wounds from the first time you changed, plus what you received today need to be addressed, if you turn me down, you run the risk of them opening and you'll bleed to death." She tells me.

I nod and I stand there as she goes to work on my wounds, using her chakra to assist my body in the healing process, and she makes sure the skin that covers the wound is strong, and that the muscles and tissue under the skin are in no danger of tearing open.

"Well, the wounds you've suffered don't appear to be in any danger of opening, so I don't see any reason for you to worry, and Himeko wasn't really hurt either."

I see the girl smile, and she nods.

"I'm fine, so we need to worry about defending ourselves, not about our own wounds."

The three of us nod, and I can hear the Ambassador whimper in the back of the room.

"He's a big help, isn't he?" I ask sarcastically.

"Our job isn't to make fun of the client, but to protect him, and as long as we can stop this attack, then we'll be able to return to our Village, with our mission complete."

I groan under my breath.

_Well, the least we can do is fail, and then we're all heroes for dying in service to the village._

We stand there, and Ishikawa-sensei speaks up.

"Himeko, Tsuzaku, I want you two to guard the door." He says. "Your respective kekkei genkai will insure that no intruders get through the door, and Chisato and I will stand at your back, near the Ambassador." He explains. "I'm sure that we'll be getting company soon, especially with you three leading them here."

I shake my head, facing the door.

"If we found this place, then the enemy will too, so we may as well get prepared."

I move to near the door, and I draw the blade, standing ready as Himeko walks next to me, and she assumes a Gentle fist stance, her kekkei genkai appearing in her eyes.

"Well, let's get ready…" I begin, closing my eyes and calling the Sharingan into my eyes.

We both stand there, and I don't know how long I stare at the door, and thoughts run through my head…

_What will happen if that monster comes out again, Ishikawa-sensei will fight me, and I don't know if I'll be able restrain it again. I don't want to end up killing someone I care about…_

We stand there for minutes, the silence causing a feeling of dread to creep up my spine, and my fingers tighten on the sword, the wrap absorbing the sweat from my hand…

_How much longer this going to take, the anticipation of all things is going to make me nuts…_

The doors fly open, the heavy barricade non existent on the door, and a cloud of smoke enters the room.

_Stereo typical ninja cover. _

I see two figures shoot through the cloud, and go straight for the Ambassador. I spin around, making one handed hand signs with my left hand, then grasping the back of the sword and sliding my left hand up the blade, pulling my arm back, I extend my right thumb, and I fire a burst of chakra from my thumb, igniting the blade, and I focus the chakra, firing a second burst that shoots the flame from the blade.

"Fire Release: Flame Thrower Sword Jutsu!"

The fire shoots from the blade and I aim it so it will be between one of the shinobi and the Ambassador. I watch as the ninja that was nearest me leaps away, up to the ceiling, and I can see him using his chakra to hold himself against the ceiling, like a spider clinging to a wall…

He looks down, and I see he's dressed in black, wearing a mask that only reveals his eyes, a waterfall headband on his forehead…

"Bastard…" He mutters.

I see him grab kunai from his pouch, and I watch as he throws them at me, and I swat them like flies, and he disappears in a puff of smoke…

_Shit!_

I spin my head around to see him appear behind me, and he has a kunai in his right hand…

"Time to die…" He mutters.

I grin.

"Look who's talking…"

Himeko strikes him from behind, and I watch him stop in his tracks, her palm in his back, his heart stopped.

I turn toward Ishikawa sensei, and I see him locked in combat with the other ninja, the two of them pressing knives against each other.

"You can't win…" The Jounin tells our sensei.

Ishikawa grins.

"Looks like it's you against me, and my three students, they've killed your partner." He explains to the Jounin.

I watch as he glances toward Himeko and me, and then back to Ishikawa-sensei.

"I don't care about your stupid students, but that man is going to die, even if I have to become a denizen of HELL to do it!"

He pushes our sensei off of his knife, and uses sensei as a means to launch himself into the air. I watch as he affixes an exploding tag to his kunai, and he hurls it at the Ambassador…

"Chisato!" I yell out to her, and I see her pull a kunai from her pouch, throwing it at the incoming weapon.

I watch as the two collide, and the tag explodes, creating smoke everywhere…

_Damn, he was using the tag as a diversion; he's created all that smoke around Chisato and the Ambassador that the three of us interfering could cause the accidental death of our benefactor…_

"He's in there." I hear Himeko say, and I turn to see her looking at the cloud of smoke, her Byakugan causing the veins in her eyes to bulge.

"What are they doing, we have to get in there!"

She shakes her head.

"Chisato can handle this, and doesn't want to us to interfere."

"Who cares?" I demand. "My Sharingan can't track anyone in that, you have to get into that cloud and help her, or she's dead!"

Himeko shakes her head.

"Look for yourself; the smoke is clearing."

I spin around, and I see the Jounin standing over the Ambassador, who's huddled up into the fetal position on the floor, scarred for his own life. Chisato stands between them, with her palm in his chest, a kunai partially in her left shoulder…

"Chisato!" Ishikawa yells, and the three of us approach as the Jounin falls over.

Ishikawa sensei goes to work on Chisato, and I look to Himeko.

"Is he?" I ask, and she nods.

"He's dead, his heart stopped."

I look the body over, and I call the Sharingan into my eyes, and I can't even see any real wounds on him, any cuts or marks, even to my eyes…

_So how did she do that, how did she kill him without even hurting him?_

I feel the kekkei genkai fade as I turn back to Ishikawa-sensei.

"Sensei, will she be all right?" I ask.

I hear her scoff.

"You think a light wound like this is going to hold me down?" She asks, and she gives me a thumb up with her uninjured arm. "Besides, you were stabbed, and it doesn't seem to be holding you back."

I shake my head.

_I'm different, I've got something inside of me that scares the living hell out of me, though somehow it manages to heal my wounds, so I guess I can't complain too much…_

"The wound is light." Ishikawa-sensei tells me. "No real danger, we just have to keep it bandaged and clean, and it should heal in a few days, you'll be feeling better."

"Is the coup over?" I ask. "Did we prevent the uprising?"

Ishikawa shrugs.

"Now that the Yamikage have made their move, I'm sure that the leader of this village will take action against them, and within the week, they'll either be missing, or behind bars, one or the other."

I shrug.

_So, it's over, at least for now anyway…_

The Ambassador clears his throat, and I see he's on his feet now, the scarred baby expression gone.

"I'd say you're a lucky man, Ambassador." I tell him. "We've saved your life three times now; I think at least you could stop looking down on us."

He turns his nose up at me.

"You four are nothing more then mere shinobi, commoners who love to fight and kill, I am educated, a member of society that serves a purpose, you will all always be lower then I am."

Anger flares in my mind.

_WHAT?_

I still hold the sword in my hand, and I move to raise it, when I feel a strong fist grab me by the wrist.

"Stop it Tsuzaku, he isn't worth it." Ishikawa tells me, talking down to the Ambassador.

I growl through my clenched teeth, and I lower the blade to my side, as Ishikawa walks back toward Himeko.

"You know, I wonder whether or not those people were wrong in wanting you dead." I say with a smile. "With your attitude, if I had to put up with you, I'd want to slit your throat too."

I raise the sword up and in an arch, sheathing the blade over my shoulder.

I turn my back on the Ambassador, and I face Chisato.

"You okay, can you move?"

She nods.

"Yeah, I think so anyway." She says, Ishikawa helping her to her feet. "I'd like to see a doctor, so I can have this wound examined." She suggests to sensei. "You should get looked at too Tsuzaku, you never know what might happen."

I shake my head.

"I feel fine, either way; I don't want to be around this asshole anymore." I explain, turning my body toward the door, my face toward Ishikawa. "Can you see that she gets to a doctor, Ishikawa-sensei?"

He nods.

"I'll make sure she's fine, since our job is over, I'm not bound to the Ambassador anymore."

The four of us leave the room, and as I walk, I feel a great feeling of disgust leave my mind, knowing that I don't have to be around the Ambassador anymore…

We found out over the course of that day that the Yamikage attempted to assassinate not only the Ambassador but also the Ninja leader as well. Since the Ninja leader is who he is, he was able to fend off his attackers, and knowing what he knew, he went after the Feudal Lord that was at the heart of the conspiracy. Rumor is the fight between them was a two hit contest, the Nin-sama's fist hitting the Lord's face, and the Feudal Lord hitting the floor…

I sit in a hot spring, at a local resort behind the waterfall, the natural water of the waterfall heated by volcanic vents deep below the Earth, making for a relaxing hot bath…

A large, 30 foot tall wall made of bamboo separates the male from the female side, and both Ishikawa and I sit in the 20 foot wide bath, Himeko and Chisato on the other side…

_Since we were so diligent in our duty, the Nin-sama had this bath closed for today, for our own personal use, before we leave the village…_

"Hey, Sensei…" I begin, leaning against the edge of the tub.

He sits in the water, his back against the edge of the circular tub, on my left, his nose buried in a manga book…

"What is it, Tsuzaku?" He asks a bored and bothered tone to his voice.

"Do you think what we did was the right thing?" I ask. "Could the members of the Yamikage been right?"

He pulls the book away from his face, and looks at me with both eyes locked on me.

"Tsuzaku, one of the things you're going to have to learn about being a Shinobi sooner or later is that usually, what we do isn't always the right thing." He explains. "Many times, we're hired to protect dictators from his own subjects, because they want to have him killed. Other times, we're hired by would be dictators, who want to have someone killed so they can assume power." He explains. "In both cases, the ninja who are chosen still have to carry out those missions, regardless of their personal feelings about right or wrong." He finishes.

"So, basically, don't think about it, or I'll just end up worrying myself?"

He nods, putting his face back into the book.

"Basically, you've got it." He says simply.

Steam slowly rises from the water, and I look up at the cavern's ceiling, and I can't help but think about what we've done, whether or not the Yamikage represent the will of the people…

_It's like Ishikawa says, don't think about it. We were paid to do the job, it wasn't a choice of do we want it or not, we had to do it, so don't think about it._

As I sit there, Ishikawa stands up.

"I'm going to get out for a bit, I don't want to soak too long." He explains, and I nod.

"I'm going to stay in a bit." I tell him, sinking down to my neck. "The water feels good on the wounds."

He nods, turning and walking out of the tub, and I'm glad he's got a towel wrapped around his waist, but what I see on his chest and back rattles me slightly…

_Those wounds, puncture marks, cuts, burns, all of them littered across his body, could all those be from his service as a Shinobi?_

He leaves the tub, and I sigh, closing my eyes, letting my skin soak in the water.

_I don't think I've ever had a bath that felt this good in a long time. Then again, there's only one hot springs in our village, and it's usually so busy or filled with pervert guys trying to sneak peeks at girls that I don't go…_

I hear the wall creak after a few minutes, and at first, I think to look, but it doesn't creak again shortly after, so I just ignore it and I keep soaking. I think I hear whispers coming from the other side, but I just ignore them, knowing Chisato and Himeko could be talking about anything, and then…

"WHAAAAAAA!" I hear a girl's voice yell.

I open my eyes to see and hear a large SPLASH in front of me in the pool, and the water flies up, hitting me as I stand up, keeping the water to my waist, looking at the top of the water…

"What the hell?" I ask, looking up to see nothing on top of the wall.

I see bubbles pop up in the middle of the pool, and then more bubbles, and then even more bubbles, and finally, I see a head break the surface, and I see Himeko come up out of the water, up to maybe her 3rd or 4th rib down…

I blush immediately.

She gasps for air, and I see a towel floating in the pool behind her, and I realize what's going on…

I spin on my heels.

"Himeko!" I yell. "What are you doing here; this is the men's side!"

"Well, uh…" She trails, and I hear her sloshing around.

_Hopefully she's looking for the towel…_

"Your towel's behind you…" I tell her.

I hear more sloshing, and I turn my head slowly, peeking over my shoulder to see her naked back, and I can see her bending over to grab her towel, and I spin my head back around, remembering the power in her eyes…

_If she's using that Byakugan thing, then she'll know that I was peeking, and she'll beat me senseless for it!_

"I'm wrapped up." She says. "You can turn around now." She tells me.

I turn around to see the yellow towel wrapped around her body, covering anything that may show…

"Sorry." I say, drifting down into the water, lowering my body farther into the water. "I didn't mean to peek."

She shakes her head, moving to the side of the pool, she sits on it, her legs still in the water.

"I didn't mean to jump the wall, but Chisato pushed me over, that's why I screamed on the way down, it's a long fall."

I nod.

"I'd bet." I agree, pausing. "But what are you doing here?"

"Well…" She mutters, as if unable to get to the point.

"What do you want to say, just spit it out, if you know what you want to say."

"Tsuzaku…" She begins; her voice shaky. "I like you!" Her voice comes out strong and serious.

_She likes me, what does that mean? _

"I like you, a lot, ever since I first saw you in class." She tells me. "And ever since we were assigned to a squad together, my feelings have only grown for you."

_She can't like me like that, she's seen the thing inside me, and yet she still wants to be around me?_

"You mean…" I trail, and she nods.

"I've had these feelings for you for a while now, and Chisato has been pushing me to do this, and that's why I fell down here, I was up on top of the wall, and Chisato pushed me down here…"

_She LIKES me? I've never heard anyone say anything like that to me before, and I didn't think Himeko of all people would. But, now some things she's done make sense, the thing with the tent, asking to sleep next to me, asking me to walk her home, how could I not have seen it earlier?_

"I'm sorry Himeko." I tell her, and I can see that fragile face shift, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, her mind thinking a rejection is imminent. "I couldn't see that you liked me, and I personally didn't think any girl would." I tell her, giving her a rarely seen smile. "I think I like you too Himeko." I tell her.

I see the tears begin to start, but a smile appears with them.

_Look, you made her cry, good job jerk…_

"Himeko, don't cry…" I plead, and she smiles.

"It's all right, I'm just happy, that's all…"

She sniffles, and she wipes the tears from her cheeks. I feel something from above, and I look up to see Chisato hanging over the wall, only her head and face exposed, like a peeping tom…

"You know, it's not nice to peep at other people." I tell her in jest.

Himeko smiles and I hear Chisato speak up.

"You might want to come back over here Hime, otherwise when sensei comes back, he'll yell at Tsuzaku."

_Oh crap, she's right…_

She nods.

"I'll see you soon." She says, leaping up over the wall and to the other side.

I sit there a second, collecting my thoughts…

_Is it just me, or did the daughter of the Hyuga clan, heir to their long family, just confess her feelings for me?_

_She did, I can't believe that!_

I sit back down in the water, feeling the water come up to my neck.

_She likes me, and now that I think about it, it all makes sense! I don't believe this! If her family finds out she's in love with an orphan like me who isn't part of a noble clan, much less one with a demon inside of him, they'll flip, and probably have me disappear from the village!_

_Calm down, relax. Remember, you're only 12, and while she IS cute, I'm sure that she only has a crush on you, and as you grow up, she'll find someone else who REALLY lights her coals, and then it'll be 'See you later' and off she goes, no harm, no foul._

_But what if she really means it, can she? Can someone our age really know what LOVE is; are we even old enough to know? _

I shake my head and growl at myself, dunking my head in the hot water. I shake my head under the water, and I pull it up, my short hair resting on my forehead…

"I need to get out." I mutter to myself, hearing my stomach growl.

_Food sounds good right about now…_

I grab my towel as I stand up and wrap it around my waist as I leave the bath and go into the changing room, seeing its empty, I change into my normal clothes quickly, stopping for a moment when I'm wearing everything else except the leaf headband…

_This is a symbol that I'm a ninja, and yet Himeko is one as well, and the teachers told us that Shinobi aren't supposed to have feelings of love or sorrow, that showing them was a weakness, so how can the two of us even be together? She's nobility, the heir to one of the most powerful clans in our village, and I'm an orphan who was found outside the village by a squad of returning Shinobi, and I just happened to be taken in by a Jounin as a foster child, and I was raised to be a Shinobi, so why does she like me? What about me does she see that's desirable?_

"It could be that you're strong, caring, and willing to sacrifice yourself for her." I hear Ishikawa's voice.

I look up to see him standing in the changing room, leaning against the lockers, a grin on his face.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

He keeps grinning as he talks.

"You were thinking about Himeko Hyuga, you were wondering what about you she likes." He tells me.

_Is he reading my mind?_

"How do you know that?" I ask. "Are you telepathic?"

He shakes his head and sighs.

"No." He responds. "I heard your conversation with her, and just now, while you were staring at you headband, you looked yourself over without even realizing it, so I went out on a limb and made an educated guess."

I sigh lightly and grab the headband.

"I don't know what she sees in me Sensei, I honestly can't think of why she'd want me." I explain. "She's the heir to the Hyuga; she'd practically have suitors at her feet in a few years."

"That's the thing." He tells me. "Because of who she is, after she bears your child, you won't be included within their family." He explains. "Even if you do marry her, you won't be involved in the child's life." He continues. "Anyone without the Byakugan isn't allowed within that family, as such, many heirs to the family don't marry, they simply have 2 or 3 children with someone that lacks any sort of kekkei genkai or lineage, and the children who are born with the pupil condition are allowed into the clan, those that aren't are looked at as trash, and left with the outsider parent."

I stare down at the headband in my hand, and then I tie it to my forehead, making sure it's tight.

"That doesn't really matter now." I respond, my sword with the clerk at the front desk, saying weapons weren't allowed in the changing room. "We need to get moving soon, and head back to the village, right?"

He nods.

"We're leaving tomorrow, and because this place is like a resort, they've given us each a single room." He says, holding up a key. "This is to your room, your sword's on your bed."

I approach him and take the key.

"First door on the left on the second floor of this place, you should be able to find your way up."

I nod.

I leave the changing room, and I walk past the front desk to the only stairs in the inn, and I make my way up them, turning left at the top, I walk down the hall to the first door on the left, and I use the key to open the blue door, and I walk inside, closing the door behind me…

_Well, at least the rooms here are pretty good…_

The floor is carpet; the walls are a relaxing beige color. There is landscape paintings hanging on the walls with beautiful landscapes designed to soothe the viewer. The bed is a single long twin sized bed, with a nightstand on the right, a lamp on the nightstand. The head of the bed is against the wall on my left, and the entertainment center with the TV in it rests against the right wall, beyond the foot of the bed. On the far wall, there are windows that are concealed with curtains.

I move to the bed, taking the sword and setting it on the ground, I lie down on the bed, resting my head on the feather down pillow. I feel my head sink into the pillow, and I reach for the nightstand, opening the drawer and taking the remote from inside. I point it at the TV, and after a few seconds, I press the button and turn the TV on. I sit there and I start flipping through the channels, realizing that the programming must come from within the village, as radio waves would have problems entering the cave through the dense stone walls that surround the village…

_Great, this really figures…_

I switch the TV off, and I hear a knock at the door.

"Who's there?" I ask, sitting up.

The door opens, and I see Chisato and Himeko standing there.

"HELL-O?" Chisato asks sarcastically.

"What's wrong?" I ask the two of them, and Chisato shakes her head.

"There's nothing wrong, we just want to ask you something." Chisato tells me.

"What do you want to ask?"

"Himeko wants to ask if she can stay in your room tonight." Chisato tells me.

_What?_

I look at the Hyuga girl.

"Himeko, I don't know if this is such a great idea, I mean you should be able to sleep alone, so why do you keep asking to sleep with me?"

"Duh you moron, she likes you, and she wants to be with you." Chisato tells me. "Is there anything wrong with her wanting to be with you?"

I shake my head.

_She hasn't even opened her mouth yet, why can't Himeko say something to me?_

"Well, Himeko, I really don't know what to say." I tell her.

She smiles.

"I take it that's a yes?" She asks, and I nod.

"Sure, though I don't know what you see in me." I tell her.

She shakes her head, giving me a smile.

"I like you Tsuzaku, I always have, ever since I first laid eyes on you in the academy, I've always felt a strong affection for you."

Chisato seems to step back.

"Himeko, I can't honestly say that before our assignment on a team together, that I really thought much about you." I tell her. "Although, since we've been working together and I've seen your actions, seen what you're capable of, and seen your feelings, I must say that you're a strong person, and you're cute too." I tell her.

I see a smile.

"So, that means you like me?" She asks.

I nod.

"Yeah, I guess it does." I say with a smile.

After that, the three of us end up walking around the village; we enjoy each other's company, though I can tell Chisato has other motivations for being there. After the day finishes, when we all head to bed, Himeko comes to my room, and I find myself becoming more and more comfortable lying next to the heir to the Hyuga clan, and the next morning, Ishikawa sensei assembles the three of us together.

The four of stand in a circle, our packs on our backs, all of us fully dressed.

"We're heading back to our Village." He tells us, and we all nod our agreement.

We start off back to our village. We walk as a group, and as we walk, Ishikawa walks ahead of us, the three Genin walking behind him.

I move up next to him, quickening my pace slightly to cover the distance.

"So, did we do what you wanted us to do on this mission?" I ask.

He glances at me.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"I remember when we left, you told me that you wanted us to work on our teamwork, do you think we accomplished what you wanted us to do?" I ask him.

He gives me a skeptical look.

"I'd say you and Himeko work fairly well together, but as a whole group, I don't think you work that well together." He says. "Chisato doesn't seem to work well with you two, so it's a good thing we'll be going on more missions as a group." He explains.

"More missions like this one?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"No, we'll be doing more missions suited to your ninja rank." He tells me, and I slow my pace, moving back to the rest of the group.

"Well, we hopefully won't have any other major missions where we're putting our lives on the line." I tell the group. "When we get back, we'll be doing D rank missions, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief."

The two of them look at each other, and I move behind them, taking a step back. I walk behind them, watching the three of them as we all walk. We walk the whole day, and when the sun goes down, and the light begins to wane, we all stop and make camp, setting up tents, and as I go to set up my tent, I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Since I let you use mine…" Himeko begins, and I nod, cutting her off.

"It isn't a problem." I tell her.

I finish setting up my tent, and I can see Ishikawa give me a strange look as I talk to the Hyuga girl, and as he sends Himeko and Chisato out to gather fire wood, he approaches me.

"So, what's happened between you and Himeko?" He asks. "I've noticed the two of you being awfully friendly with each other."

I shake my head.

"We've just been developing our friendship pretty quickly." I tell him. "It isn't like we're dating or anything."

"Well, I'll only tell you this." He says. "Shinobi are weapons, and if you think you can have a relationship with another ninja like it's nothing, then you're wrong." He explains. "Ninjas don't need feelings, and you don't either."

I shake my head.

"You really are part of an older generation, you know that Ishikawa?" I ask as I drive the last stake into the ground, securing the tent.

He shakes his head in disgust.

"No matter what 'generation' you claim to be from, you can't have a serious relationship with another shinobi, it just doesn't happen." He explains.

I just stare at the stake.

"Himeko has a crush on me, and I think she's a cute girl, so why shouldn't we at least try to have a relationship with each other?"

He shakes his head in disgust.

"You and Himeko are two of a very dangerous kind, you both possess powerful kekkei genkai, and you both are from rival clans of the village, and some people believed that you're descended from one another."

I raise my eyebrows.

"What does that mean?" I ask. "I'm an orphan, I have no family."

He shakes his head.

"Your Sharingan is proof that you do have a family, even though it's probably better that you think you don't."

"Who?" I ask.

"The Sharingan is the kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan, a nearly extinct clan of shinobi from our village." He explains. "The last known members were Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha; both of them brothers, the rest were all murdered or killed."

"Who killed them all?" I ask.

"That would be Itachi." He responds. "The elder of the two brothers, he did it for unknown reasons, and the younger brother Sasuke went on a tirade to try and restore his name, by killing his older brother." He explains. "His desire for power is what caused him to defect and leave the village, and he went to an S class criminal named Orochimaru in search of power." He continues. "When the ninja organization Akatsuki fell, it's assumed that Itachi was killed as well."

_Itachi, that name seems to ring in my mind. I know that someone's spirit is inside me, and his chakra is black, and somehow has the Sharingan; or at least something like that. So, if I've got Sasuke's spirit inside me, then it makes no sense. I don't think it's him at all, and if it isn't Sasuke's, then it must be…_

"Ishikawa-sensei, we're back!" Chisato yells happily, breaking me from my thoughts.

I see the two of them carrying armfuls of firewood, and they move to the center of our tents, putting the firewood in the middle.

"Tsuzaku, are you all right, you seem distraught." Himeko asks me, and I nod.

"I've just got a lot on my mind right now." I explain. "Sorry." I apologize, walking away from the camp sight and into the woods.

I walk for a while, just wanting to be alone for a bit, to get some time to think about the things that have come up in my life. As I stand there, my thoughts travel to what Ishikawa just told me, and I can't help but dwell on that knowledge…

_I've got a PERSON sealed inside of me, that's so incredible it isn't even believable, but after everything I've seen and done, and watched myself do, I can't deny that there is something wrong with me, yet I don't know anything concrete about what it is that's inside me…_

I look up at the sky, and I can feel the sadness of my own situation, and I clench my fists…

"How can I just stand here and think about this, I have to learn to control that chakra, to control what's happening to me!"

I hear footsteps behind me, and I turn around to see Chisato come through the bushes, stopping with several feet between us.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Take off your shirt; I want to make sure that your wounds are healing properly." She tells me.

I sigh in disgust.

"Whatever."

I take the sword from my back, and then I pull the shirt over my head, holding it near my wrists, ready to put it back on….

She approaches me, and I see her examine my chest closely, looking at the scars left from the mission in the Waterfall Village.

"Looks like it is healing nicely, although I can't say for sure, since I'm not a full fledged medic."

I shrug my shoulders.

"There isn't any real pain, and I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary." I tell her like I'm a patient sitting down for a physical.

"Although I must admit that your ability to heal is outstanding." She tells me. "Even though you got the wound less then 2 days ago, it's already closed and doesn't look like it's in any danger of reopening."

I shake my head.

"Trust me; I'd gladly give up whatever benefits I get from having this weird spirit inside me." I tell her. "You don't know what it's like to know that you could lose control of your own body at any moment."

She shakes her head.

"You're stronger then that." She tells me. "I know because Himeko's told me so, and I've seen just how strong you are."

I exhale, putting my shirt back on.

"I don't know Chisato; the only thing I do know is that we have to get back to the village." I explain, and she nods.

"I guess you're right, but still, take it easy for a bit, no extensive training that could reopen these wounds, you hear?"

I nod.

"Whatever, I'm going to head back to camp."

The two of us start to walk, and something shifts in the air, I can feel a strange sensation, and I react without even thinking…

_Sharingan!_

I can see the chakra swirling around us, and I can already tell what's going on…

"Chisato!" I yell, and she stops in her tracks.

_This is a genjutsu, and whoever's using it is trying to catch us in it!_

I can see the chakra, and I follow it back to its source, seeing a Shinobi standing in the trees, and I make eye contact…

_Now!_

I see his eyes go wide, as his own genjutsu is reversed and put back on him.

_How did I do that?_

"What?" The shinobi cloaked in shadow asks as I grab a kunai.

_Die!_

I throw the weapon, and it hits the mark, cutting into the ninja's throat, and I watch as it disappears in a puff of smoke…

_A shadow clone, well played, whoever you are…_

I look around, and I don't see anyone in the bushes, so I grab my sword, placing it on my back.

"Let's get going, whoever they are, someone is following us." I say simply.

The two of us run as Chisato looks at me from behind, and when we arrive back at camp, everything is fine, both Himeko and Ishikawa are calmly sitting around a lit campfire, and I look around with my Sharingan to see nothing wrong.

I close my eyes and I turn the Genkai off.

"Tsuzaku, Chisato, is something wrong?" Ishikawa asks.

I shake my head.

"No, no, everything's fine." I say simply.

_If they haven't noticed the ninja shadowing them, then it's probably best if I don't tell them. Telling them could only make it worse. _

"Is something wrong, Tsuzaku?" Ishikawa asks calmly, and I shake my head, moving closer to the fire.

"No, nothing's wrong, I was just thinking about some stuff, and realized that I should get back, and Chisato pointed that out."

Ishikawa glances down to his wrist, and I can see a watch there.

"You've been gone ten minutes." He responds, his tone flat. "You're saying you can't stand to be separated from Himeko that long?"

She blushes, and I growl under my breath.

"I didn't mean to be gone that long." I explain, letting my anger leave my body. "I only meant to be gone for a few seconds…"

Chisato sits down near the fire, and I see her look into the flame.

"Either way, it's going to get late soon, and we need to start picking who's going to take the first watch." She explains.

I nod.

"Well, there's four of us, so I'm going to get some sleep, I'll take second watch, so whoever takes first just wake me up."

I walk toward my tent, and I can nearly see Himeko open her mouth, even though I'm not looking at her.

"I'd like to sleep alone, so it would probably be best if you took first watch, Himeko." I tell her.

_Sorry Himeko, but with what I've just learned, I need to be alone as much as possible, I don't want to hurt you, or anyone else if I don't have to._

She nods, and I enter the tent, zipping it up behind me.

_If I hit the hay now, then by the time she comes to wake me, I'll have enough sleep that I won't have to go to bed for a while…_

I lay down on the sleeping bag, Himeko's unrolled bag lying next to mine, and both bags take up most of the room in the tent. As I climb into mine, I put my back to her bag, and I start using breathing techniques learned in the ninja academy.

_Shinobi must learn to rest their bodies whenever they can, regardless of the time of day, because true ninja act during the dead of night, when others have long since gone to bed…_

I enter into a sort of meditative sleep, resting my body and my mind, but not actually falling asleep. Since it isn't really sleep, I don't dream, even though my mind is blank and my body isn't moving, I lay there, thoughts spinning in my mind, about everything that's happening to me, and through it all, I see the three sealed Sharingan glaring at me through everything, analyzing me, looking through me…

"Tsuzaku…" I hear a voice, and my eyes pop open.

I look to see Himeko kneeling over me, the door to the tent open. I let the adrenaline leave my body, and I nod.

"Yeah, I know, sorry." I apologize.

I open the bag from inside, and I get out as Himeko gets into hers.

"Well, have a nice sleep." I tell her, sighing as I brush the ruffles out of my clothes.

I leave the tent, and I close the tent door behind me, moving out into the open clearing, the fire burning gently, with sticks lying near it, a log rolled up near the fire, an obvious seat…

_Well, may as well sit down and throw some wood on the fire, going to be a long 3 hours…_

I sit on the log and I grab some sticks from nearby, and I toss a small handful onto the fire, and I watch as the fire crackles and burns, and my eyes looking at the fire, and I watch it burn. The symbolic nature of the flame burning away at the sticks makes me think about my own existence…

_Am I nothing more then a flame? Can I only burn and destroy, or does my strength give me the power to make something?_

"I don't know what I'm capable of, I really don't know. I just know that there's a great power inside me, and I have to gain control over it, just to maintain my own sanity…"

I close my eyes and bring the Sharingan into my eyes, and I stare at the fire.

_Somehow, whoever you are, you only come out when I'm using this damn power, and for the life of me, I'm going to control you, even if I have to cut my own eyes out to do it!_

"What do you want?" I hear the voice in my mind.

"You're going to submit to me." I speak aloud. "You live in me, and I won't be controlled by you!" I mutter.

"Against my will, I'm here." The voice responds, not telling me anything. "If it were my choice, I'd sooner slice you in half and take my own existence with you then continue doing this!"

I growl under my breath.

"I want your power…" I tell him, and I hear him scoff.

"You think you can control me?" He asks. "You're nothing but a stain on my ass compared to me." He tells me. "I'll do no such thing as give you even a bit of my chakra, or any of my power."

I clench my fists.

"You WILL give me your strength." I tell him. "Or so help me I'll slit my own throat!" I mutter to him.

I hear a scoff.

"Go ahead." He tells me. "I'd rather be dead then resume this pathetic existence."

I open my hands, and I sigh heavily…

"Why don't you give me what I want?" I ask. "It isn't as though you can DO anything else?"

I can almost see him grin.

"I can take control of your body, and use it like it was mine, even though I can't control you all the time, yet."

I blink the Sharingan away, and his voice leaves my mind.

_He's trying to break the seal that was put on him and control my body like some sort of spirit!_

I sit back down, and I stare at the fire.

_I have to become stronger, so I can take control of his chakra by force, if need be._

I hear a rustling in the bushes, and I grab a kunai from my pouch, throwing it in a single motion. I watch as the ninja leaps up, and I call the Sharingan without even thinking, and thanks to the power, I can see the shadow cloaked ninja moving through the air, and what I see causes me to shift my gaze down toward the bushes, and I start making hand signs…

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Missile!" I shout, using the technique.

I fire the jutsu from my mouth, blasting the dragon shaped flame toward the bushes, and I see three figures leap up, two of which are clones, the third the real ninja…

"Found you…" I mutter.

I throw 6 kunai toward the real ninja, and I see him move, shifting in the air. I watch as he disappears in a puff of smoke, and uses a ninjutsu…

_Body flicker, huh?_

I grab a kunai as I spin around knowing what's going to happen behind me as the puff of smoke appears, and I drive the kunai into the smoke, knowing exactly what's inside. I feel the knife hit something inside, and I push with all my might, throwing the ninja from within the cloud and out onto the ground. He lands on his side and gives a wet groan, my kunai stabbed through his throat, parallel to his shoulder line. He coughs heavily and I can already tell that his own blood is flooding into his windpipe, and he's dying, and will die, barring massive surgery that would need to happen rather quickly…

"I don't know who you are, but you've been ghosting us since we left the Village Hidden in the Waterfall." I tell him.

He looks up at me with hatred in his eyes.

"So, I'm going to ask some questions, and if I don't get proper answers, then I'm going to put more of my knives into you." I tell him.

He spits, what normally would've just been spit is now full of blood. He looks up at me with hatred in his eyes, and I get a good look at him, and I see he's dressed in black clothes like many ninja wear, with a headband from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall.

"Fuck off…" He manages to mutter through his throat.

I give an unpleasant expression.

"For that, you're going to suffer."

He grins, and I hear a sick, wet laugh come through his throat.

I watch as I see his throat move, and before I know it, he's swallowed a suicide pill…

_Cyanide, great…_

His body seizes, and then goes limp as the poison goes to work, killing him in a matter of seconds…

_This asshole must belong to that Yamikage group from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall; they're out for revenge against us for stopping their coup de tat…_

"Tsuzaku, are you all right?" I hear Ishikawa's voice from behind me.

I turn around and I see him standing there, and I close my eyes, and turn the Sharingan off, then opening my eyes again.

"I'm fine; I just had to deal with this ninja." I explain. "Did I wake you up?"

He shakes his head.

"I woke up because it'll be my turn to take watch soon, so I was already awake when I heard the commotion, and after it stopped, I assumed you finished him off."

I nod.

"Unfortunately, I knew this guy was following us." I explain. "When I went off alone to think, I ran into him trying to ghost us." I confess. "I let him get away."

Ishikawa grins.

"Well, you've taken care of that now, so don't worry about it." He explains.

I shrug.

"Either way, I'm going to bed, good night."

"Good night." He responds, waving to me as I walk by and back to my tent.

I open the zipper and I see Himeko inside, sleeping peacefully, and I shake my head, getting inside the tent and closing the zipper from inside, and I climb into my bag…

"Good night, Himeko…"

I lie down and close my eyes, and I feel sleep come easily, my chakra somewhat drained by the day's events…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Chunin Exams…

Chisato wakes the rest of us up at 7 am that morning, and I come out of the short sleep rather easily. We pack up our camp quickly, the act becoming a routine for us. The four of us leave the camp sight after we finish packing our things and start back toward our village. We walk in silence, knowing we're returning to our village, and even though the mission ended in success with the entire squad surviving with very few wounds, there's a solemn air between us. The fact that a ninja was pursuing us from the group we stopped within the village lies heavily on all of our minds, I can tell without even having to ask.

_The fact that we've created more enemies both for our village and our squad by taking this mission is a humbling fact. The fact that the stronger members of that group weren't captured, and only a small amount were taken into custody disturbs us all, I know that our encounters with this group are far from over…_

"We'll back at the village again soon." Ishikawa says, starting conversation. "And before we get back, I just wanted to tell you all that I honestly didn't think the three of you would survive this mission quite as well as you all did, and I have to congratulate you on the mission's success."

I scoff.

"Success, what success?" I ask. "The leaders of the Yamikage are missing, not to mention that there are members of the group following us, probably ghosting us right now, what kind of success is that?" I ask.

He sighs.

"You saved the life of that ambassador, and not to mention the three of you were essential in the prevention of the hostile takeover of the Village Hidden in the Waterfall by a rogue Shinobi organization, and yet you think you didn't succeed?" He asks.

I nod.

"We didn't succeed in the mission." I say simply. "The original scope of the mission was a success, but what the mission evolved into became too big for the three of us to handle, no matter how much talent and ability we have, we couldn't succeed in the new scope of the mission."

"And what was the 'new scope' of the mission?" He asks.

"Basically, we were being asked to stop a coup de tat, and in order to do that, we needed more manpower and shinobi with higher skill levels then the three of us." I explain. "The best option would've been several ANBU squads."

He shakes his head.

"This mission was being done to help garner relations between our villages; do you honestly think we're going to devote the kind of manpower that you're talking about for a mission that isn't going to financially assist the village?"

_That's a good point…_

"No…" I mutter, and he nods.

"See, we did what we could, and I'm going to report to Lord Hokage just that, and it's going to be my recommendation that we not be so involved with that village, and to think about restructuring our treaty with them, based on internal problems within their village."

I shrug.

"Whatever, Sensei, let's just get home so I can sleep in my own bed again."

We continue on our way back to Konoha, and before long, the three of us are at the gates to The Village Hidden in the Leaves. As we enter, I feel a sigh of relief pass my lips, and I catch it mid expression…

_I've got nothing to be relaxed about. Just because I'm home doesn't mean my problems suddenly dissolved. I still have to learn to control the chakra and the thing inside me, and I have to do it quickly…_

The three of us walk the main street of the village, and we stop after 20 feet, as Ishikawa sensei turns around.

"Well, I'm going to make my report to Lord Hokage, so I'll be off." He tells us, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

He leaves the three of us standing there, alone.

"Well, I'm heading home." Chisato tells the two of us. "I'll see the two of you when we have our next mission."

We nod, and she walks off, leaving Himeko and I alone.

"Well, I'm going to head home." She says. "Would you like to come, I'll introduce you to my parents, and you can have dinner with us, I'm sure my folks would love to meet you."

_Dinner with a rich, noble family, sure, why not? I just have to keep the thing inside me quiet for a little while…_

I nod.

"Only if you're sure your folks won't mind." I explain. "If your parents are going to be bothered by my presence, then I'll eat some instant ramen at my house."

She shakes her head.

"No, it'll be all right, they really want to meet you, I swear." She tells me.

I shrug.

"Okay, as long you think it'll be okay." I tell her.

As we walk, something pops into my head.

"Wait, I have to stop back at my home." I say, pointing to the sword over my shoulder with my thumb. "I don't want to wear this to your home." I explain.

She nods her agreement, and we take a side trip, stopping by my apartment first, I lay the sword on the bed, and then I lock the door behind me, not letting her into the apartment, for multiple reasons.

Her and I walk from my apartment to her home, and she leads me back to her mansion like home, and leads me into the courtyard of her home, and I can see that the house has been there much longer then I've been alive, the stone walls are older then I am, and if the walls could talk, I'm sure they could tell a story as long and as old as the village itself…

"Nice house." I tell her, feeling the green grass between my toes, the grass coming up the tips of the sandals…

"Thanks." She responds with a smile. "The house is old, and has been passed down from generation to generation." She explains.

"Aren't you the next in line?" I ask her, and she nods.

"Yeah, I'm the next in line to inherit in the clan." She explains, though I can see a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Is something wrong, Himeko?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

She shakes her head quickly.

"No, no, everything's fine!" She responds rather loudly.

I hear the sound of a door sliding open, and I turn and look to see an older man in his thirties, wearing a black headband, with white robes on his chest and pants, and a black robe at his waist over the white pants, hanging down to just above his knees. His hair is long, easily down to mid back, and his eyes are the same as Himeko's, that strange lavender pupil-less eyes…

"Oh, hello Cousin." Himeko says with a smile.

_Cousin?_

The man bears a serious air about him, almost as if he lacks a sense of humor and somehow isn't human…

His eyes move to her when she speaks, and he smiles, nodding lightly.

"Hello, Lady Himeko, it's a pleasure to see you back safely." He says with a happy tone, and then in a moment that somewhat pleased expression leaves his eyes as he fixes his gaze on me. "Who's your friend?" He asks.

_Jeez, his tone is like an overprotective father who's gently stroking his gun while his daughter brings her first boyfriend home…_

"Oh, Cousin Neji this is Tsuzaku Sasaki, he's a classmate as well as a fellow squad member." She explains, and I bow, nearly slamming my head into the ground.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." I say, my voice quick and hurried, my confidence shaken by the man.

He gives a slight smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Sasaki." He responds politely.

_Okay Himeko, you can explain why you dragged me back here!_

"I invited Tsuzaku here for dinner." Himeko says, as if she senses her cousin's question and my desire to explain it to him. "Is there any reason he can't have a meal with us tonight?" She asks.

The one she called Neji shakes his head no.

"There isn't any special occasions or events tonight." He responds. "Lady Hinata is inside, and has been worried about you since you left, Lady Himeko."

_There it is again, he keeps calling her 'Lady Himeko,' and he just referred to another person as 'Lady Hinata,' so who is he, and why he is referring to his cousin in such a formal and respectful tone?_

"Mom's inside?" She asks, and he nods. "Where is she?"

"She's in the Dojo, meditating." He explains.

"Oh…" She mutters.

"However, I'm sure she'll be finished soon, so if you'd like, I'll escort your friend to the living room while you can return to your room and freshen up." He offers, and she nods.

"If you would, I really appreciate it, thank you Neji." Himeko says in earnest.

I look at him, and he motions toward the door he emerged from.

"Follow me please." He says.

I nod as the three of us walk toward the door, and Himeko goes inside first, turning right in the hallway. I follow the man as he steps up, turning around and stopping me before I can do so as well.

"Please, remove your shoes, as a courtesy."

I nod, slipping the sandals off, and standing on the stone pathway outside the home. He bends down, taking my shoes with one finger in each, and then stands up.

"Follow me." He says again, and I nod, stepping up and feeling the smooth hardwood underneath my feet.

I follow the man at his pace, keeping up with him rather easily, and he leads me the opposite direction that Himeko went, and I keep calm as I follow him…

_Hell, worst case is that he'll spin around and hit me with a palm thrust and kill me…_

I don't know how I can think so calmly about that, but I do, and he stops at a Japanese style door, white and made of paper with a dark wood framework.

"This is our living room, please wait in here." He says.

He slides the door open, and I stand there a moment, looking the man over.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask curiously, and he nods.

"You may ask, but I can't guarantee that you'll get an answer." He responds.

"Well, why is it do you refer to Himeko with such respect?" I ask. "Aren't you her elder?"

He nods.

"I am her elder." He responds. "And why I act the way I do toward her, is none of your business."

I nod.

_I figured as much, it must have something to do with internal politics within the clan…_

"I'm sorry for prying." I respond.

"If you'll please wait here, I have other matters I need to attend to." He explains, and I nod.

I walk inside the room, and I see him set my shoes down in the hallway near the door, and then walk off. I hear his footsteps echoing down the hall, and I can't help but watch as he leaves view, and I sigh as I think about the general appearance of the man…

_Judging from the way he talks and his age, I'd say he's probably a Jounin, if not a member of ANBU that's off duty. He's so powerful I can feel the difference between us, and it makes me want to shake just thinking about how easily he'd kill me if he wanted too…_

I sigh heavily, exhaling most of the breath in my lungs as I turn around and examine the room.

The room is large, easily 70 square feet, with an L shaped sofa that runs against the right wall and extends off, parallel to the far wall. The far wall is comprised mostly of 2 large sliding glass doors, which allow natural light to fill the room. The walls are a gentle beige color, and the floor is carpeted. There are no other doors other then the two glass doors and the one behind me, and I walk to the sofa, my mind fixated on the lack of a TV…

_You'd think with all this money, they'd have a TV or something, but they don't. I wonder, do they ever entertain anyone, or is member of the clan so busy that they don't have the time to relax and watch TV?_

I sit down on the couch with my back toward the door, and I sigh as I sink into the leather couch, feeling the cushions absorb my body weight…

"Well, at least the sofa is nice." I mutter to myself.

As I sit there, I look out the door at the natural scenery, the grass and the trees and the sun gently mixing together.

I don't know how long I sit there just waiting for something to happen, when I hear a familiar voice whispering in my ear…

"I'm still here, and you're still a weakling." Whispers the male voice, like a ghost whispering in my ear.

I shake my head.

_Shut up, I don't have time to deal with you!_

"I'm finished." I hear Himeko's voice, and I turn around, and my eyes go wide as what I see differs from what I expected to see…

She's wearing a soft white ukada with flower designs on it with a blue sash around her waist. Her hair, though short, is pulled up above her and held there with an ornamental clasp. I can see light make up on her face, and she wears a smile on her face.

"Is something wrong?" She asks. "You've got such a strange expression on your face?"

I nearly slap myself in the face when I realize that my mouth is almost hanging open, and I was staring at her.

"Sorry." I respond, shaking my head. "I was just surprised at the way you look." I respond, giving a smile.

"What do you think?" She asks.

I can't help but blush.

"You look pretty." I tell her, avoiding her gaze.

I hear her giggle.

"Thank you." She says.

She walks forward, and I can only imagine the practice it must take to walk in an outfit like that…

She sits down on the sofa, and I make room, moving right toward the wall.

"I'm sure Mom will be done any minute now." She explains.

I nod impatiently

'Himeko, can I ask you why that Neji guy refers to you with such respect?"

She nods.

"It's because I'm the heir to the clan, and my mother is the current leader of the clan." She explains.

"So, then all the other clan members refer to you in the same way?"

She shakes her head.

"No, only certain members of my family do." She explains. "Certain cousins only do that."

_Cousins, why only the cousins? If you're the heir to the clan, then every other clan member should refer to you with some respect…_

"Why only them?" I ask. "Why not all your brothers and sisters and extended family?"

She opens her mouth to respond, but I hear an older female voice come into the room.

"So, this is the boy you told me about before you left, isn't it Himeko?" I hear the older voice come from the hallway, and both of us turn and look to see a woman standing there.

She has the same eyes like Himeko does, and she wears a white robe, similar to what the man wears, only more traditional, and a gray color, rather then white and more like what you'd see normal people wear. She has a black sash around her waist, and she walks gracefully yet with a commanding presence. Her hair is long, and it rests on her back, neatly lying back, with short bangs hanging above her eyes.

"Hello Mom." Himeko greets her, and I nod, standing up and bowing.

"Hello, Mrs. Hyuga." I respond.

She bows as well.

"And hello to you too, Mr. Tsuzaku." She says. "My name is Hinata, and I'm Himeko's mother." She explains, smiling. "I've heard many good things about you."

I scratch the back of my head in embarrassment.

"Well, I don't know if everything's true, but your daughter is a rather kind person." I respond, showing humility.

She scoffs in jest.

"Oh, come on now." She responds. "You don't have to be so modest." She explains. "Himeko has told me that you were willing to sacrifice your status as a ninja to allow her to continue being one, and she's also told me you're very smart."

I shake my head.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Hyuga, but I don't see the good in myself, I've always had a problem doing so."

"Neji informs me that you came back with Himeko, I take it your mission went well?" She asks.

I nod.

"We managed to succeed in our mission, so I guess it did." I explain.

"Come on mom, do you think we'd come back in a good mood if we failed?"

The older woman shakes her head.

"I hope my daughter didn't get in your way, and was of help." She tells me, and I start in surprise.

"She was very helpful!" I respond. "She helped out a lot, and was crucial in the mission." I explain, and I can see Himeko sigh in frustration.

Her mother smiles.

"I'm glad to hear it." She responds. "Himeko never really enjoyed fighting much, and when she told me she was going on a mission where she'd have to fight other ninja, I feared that she might die." She explains. "But I'm glad to see that she didn't hold you and the other ninja you're teamed with back."

I shake my head.

"Your daughter is stronger then you think, and her strength was greatly appreciated during the mission." I explain. "I believe our sensei would even agree with me on that."

"Your sensei is Ishikawa Masakazu, correct?" Hinata asks, and I nod.

"Yes, ma'am, it is."

She scoffs.

"You don't have to refer to me as Ma'am; you can just call me Hinata."

I shake my head.

"You're the head of this house, and I am a guest here." I explain. "It's only proper for me to refer to you with respect." I continue. "It would be out of my place for me to refer to you by first name, Mrs. Hyuga."

She shakes her head.

"I guess it can't be helped." She responds. "Dinner will be served soon, if you'd like, you're more then welcome to sit at our table?"

I nod.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." I respond. "And I accept your offer."

Before I know it, we're all sitting at their dinner table, with Himeko sitting next to me, and her family sprawled around the table. They all glare at me with their pupil-less eyes, and I can't help but feel nervous under their gaze. They look at me like they're inspecting a piece of meat, and I feel my left leg begin to go up and down nervously under the table.

_Great, they're looking at me like I'm the devil incarnate…_

Even the one called Neji, gives me a dirty look, and the only people who don't are Himeko and her mother, who both eat with a smile on their faces, unaware of the seriousness that hangs over me and the remainder of the dinner party…

I force a cough to clear my throat.

"I'm going to get some air, please excuse me." I say quickly, standing up and walking out of the dining room.

I find my way outside quickly, and when my feet hit the grass, and I feel the grass under my feet, my mind runs a mile a minute…

_How the hell could I have agreed to this? How stupid can I be? I'm nothing but an outsider to them!_

I don't detect the person sneak up behind me, and stand on the walkway inside the home…

"For all our clan's insight and nobility, we still tend to view outsiders with disdain." I hear Hinata's voice from behind me.

I turn to see the woman standing in the walkway, and immediately my mind goes to proper etiquette.

"Lady Hinata, I didn't mean to startle you, or invite you to leave your food."

She shakes her head, waving the words away.

"I left the table because I'm concerned about you; my daughter is as well, although I felt it would be better if I came, to make a point to the others."

I shake my head.

"I'm sorry I came here, I shouldn't have accepted your daughter's invitation for dinner, it was a mistake on my part, and I apologize profusely for it." I tell her with my head bowed in shame.

She scoffs.

"It isn't like you murdered someone, and the invitation still stands, you can return to the table and finish your meal, no one will stare at you and think oddly of you for it."

I shake my head no, again.

"Sorry, but I can't, even though you've told them not to, in the back of their minds your other family members will always consider me an outsider, and will resent my being here, so I'm not going to cause those feelings, by respectfully taking my leave." I tell her bowing again in courtesy.

She gains an expression that I can only describe as being 'miffed' or upset about a situation that isn't under your control, and being unable to change it.

"Is there anything I can say to change your mind?" She asks. "We've got chocolate cake for desert?" She asks with a flattering tone.

I give a half hearted smile.

"Thanks, but once again, no thanks." I respond. "I'm sorry I came here, and as soon as I get my shoes, I'll…"

I don't get to finish my sentence…

BOOM!

There's an explosion, and a pillar of smoke rises into the sky mixed with dust and shrapnel. The source is far enough away that I can only hear and feel the noise, and I look in the direction of the sound, and I see the smoke coming up near the apartments where I live…

_It can't be…_

"Isn't that?" Hinata asks, and I run past her into the house.

I run for the front door, and I can see Himeko and other members of her family coming down the hall, obviously looking for Hinata.

The one called Neji is in front of the pack, and he yells at me.

"Where is Lady Hinata?" He demands.

I point behind me as I run past them.

"She's in the courtyard, I've got to go!" I yell behind me as I make my way around the corner and to the front door. I slip into my sandals, and I open the door, running down the street toward my apartment building.

I hang a right, turning onto the street, and I can see in the distance that people are already gathering, and ninja are already there, attempting to put the flames out using water based techniques…

_Oh no, that IS my building!  
_My fears are realized as I approach the building, and a Chunin dressed in a Leaf uniform stops me, one of three Chunin assigned to control the crowd…

"You can't go any farther kid, it's too dangerous!" He yells at me, and I don't even acknowledge his face.

"That's my home, I LIVE with those people!" I shout, reaching past him, trying to somehow push my way past…

I see him grimace.

"I'm sorry." He apologizes very seriously, and the words stop me in my tracks…

"For wha…"

His hand hits the back of my neck, and I feel my consciousness slip away as my body falls, the blow landing on my spine, causing temporary loss of consciousness…

I open my eyes to the feeling of a soft bed, and a soft down pillow under my head. The ceiling looks like the ceiling of an old Japanese mansion, and when I look around the room, I realize exactly where I am…

_This looks like the Hyuga mansion, what the hell am I doing here? The last thing I remember is that Chunin knocking me out…_

I sit up and I pull the blankets off of me, and I sit there for a moment, thinking about what's just happened to me.

"I remember falling unconscious, but I don't remember ever coming here, though I feel like I'm at Himeko's house…"

The door opens, and she enters, obviously she's been listening, waiting for me to wake up.

"It's because you are." She explains. "After that Chunin knocked you out, you were laid out, so he asked if anyone could take of you, and I arrived on the scene just after he knocked you out, and Mom volunteered to take you in, since you were an orphan to begin with."

I shake my head.

"You didn't have to take me in; I could've found a way to get by on my own…"

She shrugs.

"I just think that you've had enough negative things happen to you, so I figured if I can help just a little, then it'll help you to have a better life."

"Anyway…" I begin, changing the subject. "Where's Ishikawa-sensei, didn't he have anything to say about this arrangement?"

She shrugs.

"I don't know; I believe he'll be waiting for us tomorrow at the usual spot with our next mission."

I sigh in frustration.

_That's my teacher for you, my house gets blown up, and he doesn't even make an appearance while I'm knocked out, great guy isn't he?_

I throw the blankets off, and I stand up, stretching as I do. Himeko gains a concerned look as I get up, and voices that concern.

"Are you sure you should be moving, I mean you took a nasty blow from that Chunin?"

I nod.

"I feel fine, and besides, I've never really felt all that at rest just sitting around, I'd rather be doing something, training, chores, cleaning, something to keep my occupied rather then just sit on my laurels."

"All right, well, since I don't have a mission today, my mom gave me some house chores to do, if you want, you can help me with them?"

I nod, smiling.

"Thanks, Himeko." I tell her, and she blushes.

"This is the first time anyone has ever thanked me for giving them chores…"

I grin.

"Let's get started, okay?" I ask. "What's first?"

With a gentle nod, the two of us start off on her list of chores. Since we're both doing it, we tackle the problems working as a unit, and we manage to get it done in less then half the time. We clean the floors; do dishes, and other chores that are just mundane duties of owning a home.

_You'd think a clan as rich and as noble as this one would just have servants to do all the grunt work?_

When we finish, she leads me to the courtyard, and we sit on the edge of the walking path, our shoes off, our feet in the grass of the courtyard, the sun gently coming down on us, though the roof the of the mansion does block most of it, leaving a relatively cool area on the outdoor walkway…

"Himeko?" I ask her name, and she speaks.

"Yes, what is it Tsuzaku?" She asks.

"Not to offend or anything…" I begin. "But why would your mom have YOU do all the housework like that?" I ask, referring to all the chores we accomplished throughout the day. "Why not just give the jobs to servants or something?"

She gains a solemn look, as if remembering something sad.

"At one point, I wouldn't have had to do these things." She explains. "The weaker members of the branch family would've been given the job, but that was during my grandfather's time as leader of the clan." She explains.

_What, branch family, what the hell is that?_

"Branch family, what is that?"

She smiles.

"Oh yes, I forget, you don't know anything about my clan." She tells me. "My family is divided into two parts." She begins. "A branch household and the main household." She explains. "I belong to the main house, and because I'm the first born child of the main branch, it's my duty and birthright to inherit the clan, as my mother did." She continues. "But, the branch family is different." She pauses. "The second born child of the Hyuga main house is placed into the branch family, as the heir to it." She continues. "Any children that person has, regardless of their skill or ability, is placed into the branch family, and denied any chance of assuming leadership of the clan."

"So, what then?" I ask. "Why didn't your mom just have these branch family members do the chores?"

"It's because things have changed since my grandfather's time." She explains. "Under my mother, the branch house has gained more respect in the clan, and she treats them with more humanity and kindness then the previous leaders did."

"I guess I can understand that." I respond.

_Yeah, I'd be pissed as all hell if I found out that I belong to a family set up like this one, and I was born into a servant branch of the house, and my only job in life is to protect and serve the members of the main house, who aren't that different from me…_

"Although, the worst part of it all is the curse mark…" Himeko continues.

_Curse mark?_

"What are you talking about?"

The voice that answers isn't the 12 year old girl's, but an older male voice from behind the two of us.

"It's a mark, branded onto each and every member of the branch house, it allows the main house to control us, and kill us if necessary." A familiar male voice echoes in my ear.

I turn around to see the man dressed in white robes standing behind us, his arms crossed, as if nonchalantly listening to the conversation…

_He snuck up on Himeko and I like it wasn't any problem, he must be a Jounin, like I thought he was. _

"Neji…" Himeko mutters and he looks down at me.

"I see you seem to be growing quite accustomed to living here." He says to me, and I stand up slowly, putting a cold, emotionless expression on my face.

"I apologize." I say, bowing my head. "I was merely assisting Lady Himeko with her house chores to keep myself occupied, and since we completed her tasks, we decided to take a break…" I explain.

"My, my, you've learned your place rather quickly; you'd make a fine addition to our family, if only you'd been born a Hyuga." He says, and then pauses. "However, none of that matters, I'm here to inform you that a Jounin is waiting for the two of you outside, he claims to be your sensei."

_Ishikawa, about freaking time you showed, I don't think I could stay in this house another minute with this guy staring me down…_

Himeko gets up, and she looks straight at the older man, her face set in a foul expression.

"Neji, we will talk about this, later." She tells him in a no nonsense tone, a tone I've never heard her speak in before.

_So, that's what she's like when she's pissed off, I've never even really seen her emote much of anything other then shyness or embarrassment, or a small amount of anger when trying to protect her own life, I've never known her to be so coldly angry at anything…_

He nods, and the two of us walk away from the conversation, and she leads me to the front gate, where I find our shoes sitting there. It's easy to figure out where we go from there, slipping into our shoes; the two of us go outside the mansion to see Ishikawa standing there, his right hand on his right hip, his left arm hanging down at his side.

"So, the rumors are true…" He mutters, looking at Himeko and me.

I nod.

"She graciously offered to take me in after my apartment got annihilated." I explain.

"About that…" Ishikawa begins. "They investigated the remains, and they found evidence of explosives, someone blew up your apartment intentionally, probably trying to kill you."

_So, it's just like I thought…_

"And since someone tried to murder me, what safer place to live then with a family of people who can see through walls?" I ask sarcastically.

He grins.

"I guess so." He responds, and then his mind seems to shift. "Where's Chisato, have you three heard from her?"

I shrug.

"We haven't heard anything, I don't know if she's even okay or not." Himeko explains.

Almost as if on cue, I hear Chisato's voice enter my ears.

"Sorry I'm late." She says.

Ishikawa looks at the three of us, and then nods.

"Well, we've got another mission, so let's go." He tells us, and we follow, like good students should.

The missions we go on are all low level d rank missions, and we're doing missions daily for almost two weeks, and part of me is glad for it. The constant work takes my mind off my home situation, and the situation with the black chakra that seems sealed inside of me. As we do the simple tasks assigned to us over the weeks, the three of us learn to work together as a team, and develop an understanding of each other in terms of our Shinobi abilities. Then, after nearly 2 weeks straight of low level missions, Ishikawa calls an early morning meeting, like usual, and we all reach the consensus that it's nothing more then another low level, easy mission…

The three of us wait in the middle of the village in the town square. The Hokage Mountain overshadows us all, and the six faces on it portray the various leaders of the village. I look up at it, and at the face of the Sixth, and I wonder what the blonde haired man was like as a child. His name is so well known within the village it's incredible, and he openly admits to being the host of a tailed demon…

"Where the hell is Ishikawa-sensei?" Chisato demands, annoyance permeating her voice.

I shrug, taking my eyes off of the mountain.

The three of us stand near a shop, both Himeko and Chisato stand away from it while I lean against the wall, my arms crossed over my chest, Chisato looks around with her hands on her hips, spinning her head around, while Himeko stands there, quiet and introverted, as if a great many thoughts swirl in her head, and she's just thinking them through…

_We're not that different, Himeko and I, at least, that's what I think. Sure, my problem is with a spirit that's residing within my body, whereas her problems deal more with her family and her status within the village. However, the same can be said for both of us, we've both got demons lurking within us. _

"Himeko…" I begin, nearly a whisper, and she moves closer, away from Chisato as the blonde grumbles.

"What is it Tsuzaku?" She asks.

"I just realized…" I begin. "We aren't so different."

She shakes her head.

"You're wrong." She tells me, almost in self pity. "You and I are very different." She continues. "You're free; you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, whereas I have had my destiny laid out for me since the minute I was born." She continues. "You're strong, you're powerful enough to protect the people you care about, and you'd do anything for the people that matter to you." She finishes with a dreary tone to her voice, as if thinking negatively about herself.

I smile, as if trying to brighten her mood, by brightening my own.

"I don't see how you aren't every one of those things." I explain. "You're just as free as I am. There's nothing stopping you from taking off, you could run away and do whatever you want, damn the consequences, just as I could." I counter her first point. "And as far as strength, you're just as powerful as I am, if not more so." I explain. "You can kill a person with a feather's touch, and you use that strength to protect people, you've saved my life, and protected me, just as I've protected you."

The truth to my words is only evidenced by my smile, and a genuine tone to my voice chides her frown to begin to disappear, and I can see her begin to smile, and her eyes start to get teary.

"Thank you, Tsuzaku." She mutters, her voice cracking, emotions swirling around her head.

At this point, Chisato takes notice, and I can feel her eyes on me, like a hawk eying a dying rat…

"What's wrong, Chisato?" I ask her, forcing her shift her gaze quickly, as if I didn't know she was staring.

"I'm just waiting on our sensei; I can't believe he'd call a meeting for this early and then have the gall to be late about it." She mutters.

At that point, a puff of smoke appears behind her, and the smoke quickly clears, and I recognize the person behind her as Chisato spins around, and Ishikawa stands there, his hands in his pockets, a relaxed expression on his face.

"I see the three of you made it here without any problem, and didn't kill anyone while you were waiting."

Chisato opens her mouth, probably to scold him, but I cut her off before she can even utter the first words…

"What's the mission today, Ishikawa-sensei?" I ask, loudly enough to make Chisato start in surprise.

He shakes his head.

"No mission, I'm here to give you three these."

For a moment, a feeling of dread builds in my stomach. My initial thoughts are what he's going to give us are dismissal papers, that all three of us were going to be dropped from the ninja program, and washed out as failures…

"Here." He says, pulling three slips of paper from his right hip pocket, and handing one to each of us.

I look down at the white paper with the neatly written black letters, and as I read, the feeling I had leaves, replaced with a different one.

"These are applications?" I ask.

He nods.

"As you're all probably well aware, the Chunin exams are coming up, and the reason I was late was because a meeting with all the Sensei Jounin and Chunin was held by the Sixth." He explains. "At the meeting, all the Jounin who taught rookies were asked if any of their students were worthy of the Chunin exams, and I recommended all three of you."

The words come as a surprise, the fact that Ishikawa thought positively about the three of us doesn't seem to fit him, but that feeling leaves when I hear his next sentence.

"I don't think you all will pass the exam, but I believe you're ready to take it." He explains, nearly contradicting himself.

Chisato nearly falls over in embarrassment.

"What do you mean you don't think we'll pass it?" She demands. "Why recommend us for it then?"

_Ironically, I was just going to ask that…_

The thought seems unanimous for the three of us.

"Shinobi get sharper when they're placed under stress." He explains. "If you're really cut out to be a ninja, then you will be able to take the test, and pass or fail, you'll come away from it smarter, and stronger." He explains.

"And what's the alternative?" She asks. "What if we truly aren't cut out to be ninja?"

He smiles as he explains.

"Then you'll have a psychological episode, and probably end up being locked up in a nuthouse."

There's an air of cold suddenly around us, and I can nearly feel the cold wind, even though it isn't there.

"You mean, we're not just taking the test to become Chunin, you're also testing us, to see if we're capable?" I ask.

He nods.

"You hit the nail on the head." He tells me. "Either way, pass or fail, this team won't be broken up, as long as all of you stay sane."

_He's probably trying to get us killed because he doesn't want to have to deal with us, and instead of admitting that we annoy him, he'd rather just see us killed during the exams and then claim we weren't up to snuff, clever, very clever…_

"So, what should we do?" I ask. "Do we have to take the test?"

He shakes his head.

"What you hold is an application with your name and information on it." He explains. "That's your key." He continues. "If you want to take the test, you'll come back here tomorrow morning with the application in hand, if not, then just don't show up, you can register just 1 or 2 people from a team for the exams, so it doesn't matter." He continues. "All three of you should think on this, and ignore what your teammates want, apply only if you want to, not because you feel you have to."

With that, he disappears in a puff of smoke, and leaves the three of us standing there, like a deer in headlights…

Needless to say, we all need time to think, so we all split up, and go our separate ways, leaving each of us alone to think about the decision that lies ahead of us.

"I've got an opportunity to become a Chunin and advance my ninja rank, which will mean tougher missions and a better pay, however it also means that I'll be putting my life on the line and might be charged with the leadership of a squad, and I don't think I'm cut out for that…"

I stand on the roof of a building, looking at the Hokage Mountain, at the six stone faces…

_What would they all have done?_

"They'd apply, and they'd pass, with flying colors." I mutter to myself. "Because they're all the Hokage, they're good enough to be able to pass the exam like it's nothing, whereas I'm different…"

Other then the sixth, none of the other Hokage had a demon inside them, an inner conflict that had to be fought in addition to the external conflicts as well…

_This is crazy, what am I doing? I should say no, I just need to tell Ishikawa sensei that I don't want to risk this demon coming out of me and killing people while I'm taking the exams…_

"So, this is where you are." I hear a familiar, older male voice.

I turn around to see the older man, dressed in green clothes with a ninja vest on his chest and his headband tied around his waist. His hair is dark and cut in a bowl cut, and he has incredibly large eyebrows, the man who took me in and raised me, and taught me taijutsu…

"You…" I mutter my voice half happy, half sad.

He looks at me as he stands behind me on the roof, and then casts his eyes up to the mountain.

"They weren't all always like that." He explains.

"What?" I ask, half turning toward him.

"The Hokage, each and every one of them was not born with the title laid in their laps; they were kids once, just as you are, and just as I was." He explains. "They were not just talented and born that way, they had to work to achieve that status." He finishes.

I nod.

"I know." I say, looking back at the faces in the mountain.

"Hard work and discipline can take you anywhere in life, and if you keep at it, anything you work at will eventually pay off, trust me."

I nod.

"Thanks Lee." I say simply, using his name.

The exam application rests folded up in my pocket, and I stand up, looking at the mountain with my hand balled into a fist.

_A true ninja never backs down from a challenge, I'll take this test, and I'll ace it with flying colors!_

I turn around and I walk back toward the roof entrance, and Lee stands there, his right hand on his hip, his hands wrapped in tape.

"How'd you find me?" I ask as I meet him, and the two of us walk back toward the door.

"I heard from your sensei that he recommended you for the exams, and from there I just had to use what I knew about you to find you."

I nod.

"Yeah, when I was a kid, this place was one of my favorite places to go."

"Yeah, you always marveled at the stone faces when you were younger."

I nod again.

"Yeah, I remember." I tell him. "So, can I ask you something?" I ask as the two of us enter the stairwell.

"What is it, Tsuzaku?"

"Do you really think I can pass the exams, and if I try, that I'll really make it?"

He nods.

"I do, I raised you to work hard at everything you do, and combined with your natural talent, you're going to be a splendid ninja."

As I look at the stairs in front of me, my own thoughts can only seem to contradict my foster father's words…

"I don't know, I mean, it's one thing because I've got talent, but I keep feeling like something's going to happen, and I'm really going to hurt someone I care about."

He shakes his head.

"If you really care about something, whether it's a person, a motto, or just a way of life, then you'll protect it, no matter what the cost." He tells me. "I was born with no talent for genjutsu or ninjutsu, and because of that, I felt I had to prove that I could be a great ninja with just taijutsu." He tells me. "There were times when I felt like giving up, but the people around me motivated me to continue, and I formed my own nindo, and I sought to protect it, no matter what the cost, and I did."

_Your own nindo huh, I don't even know what my purpose in life is yet, and you already knew when you were a genin, that's something. I just want to find my father, find him and ask him why he abandoned me here, and also what it is that's inside of me, and I have so many other questions, about the Sharingan, and about everything…_

"So, how are your living arrangements?" He asks me.

"Well, I'm living with Himeko Hyuga and her family now; she offered to take me in after my apartment was destroyed in that fire."

He nods.

"I know, how is Neji doing, by the way?"

"Neji?" I ask, remembering the Hyuga man wearing white. "He's all right; he seems to be fine, why?"

"He's an old teammate from my childhood, and he was a long time rival." He continues. "For the longest time, I wanted nothing more then to beat him and prove to the world that I was a splendid ninja, and many times I failed, but I never gave up."

I nod.

"I understand, and I'm not giving up either, I'm going to take the exams, and I'm going to pass!"

The next day, the three of us return to the place where Ishikawa gave us the applications, and I see both Chisato and Himeko come to the meeting place as well.

"So, I see that you've decided to show up after all, huh Chisato?" I ask.

She grins.

"I'm not going to chicken out, and I know you're not either." She tells me.

I see Himeko standing there, a concerned look in her eyes, as if she's questioning herself…

"Himeko, are you all right?" I ask her, and she nods slowly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replies, forcing a smile.

I can't open my mouth to continue the conversation, a puff of smoke appears next to me, and I already know what's going on…

_He really is starting to like doing that, isn't he?_

Ishikawa stands there, his arms crossed.

"Well, looks like all three of you are here to give me your answers, so who's going to chicken out?" He asks.

His eyes go to each one of us in turn, and I see him look all of us in the eyes, and he finishes with me.

"I'm not." I respond first.

Chisato nods.

"Me neither."

His eyes drift to Himeko, who has stayed quiet.

"And you, will you take the test?" He asks of her.

She nods.

"I am." She simply responds.

He uncrosses his arms and grins.

"Well, well, it looks like you're all actually going to take the test after all." He says simply, and sparks a confused look from his students.

"What do you mean sensei?" I ask. "You told us that whoever opted out could just opt out and that would be the end of it."

He nods.

"I know that's what I said, but it was hardly the truth." He tells me. "In order to register for the Chunin exams, you have to register as a three man team, meaning you can't register just two people." He tells us.

"WHAT?" Chisato demands. "But, you said we wouldn't affect the others if we didn't take the test?"

He nods.

"I told you that to prevent one of you from persuading the other two to take the exams." He tells us. "I wanted all of you to come here of your own volition, without feeling guilty that you'd prevent the others from taking the test should you feel you weren't ready." He explains. "However, it's all a moot point, because you're all here, and for all the right reasons, so the three of you can put in your applications together as a team, and get registered for the exams."

He points to the main ninja headquarters which also serves as the Academy.

"You can register there; the registration room is on the third floor, room 3." He tells us.

We all nod, and we start walking. As we make our way through the village, we see other ninja out and about, although none of them aren't from this village…

_With the Chunin exams about to start, shinobi from other villages will start showing up soon, and when they do, things can get a little hectic…_

We manage to make our way to the Academy without problems, and we make our way inside, heading for the stairs, we start up, and after we finish a set of steps and round the corner…

A crowd of people stand in the hallway, roughly halfway down from where we are. They're a myriad of shapes and sizes, and all of them wearing the hidden leaf headband somewhere on their bodies. 2 of them stand in front of a room marked 3-3, and the two look like older Chunin, and they're speaking to the crowd.

"Sorry, but none of you can take the exams, none of you are going to pass anyway." The one says his voice a smirk.

The members of the crowd seem displeased, and many start voicing their complaints.

"But we want to take the exams; you have to let us pass." Says one Genin from amongst the crowd.

We approach, and I open my mouth.

"All of you just shut up!" I yell out, loud enough that everyone hears me, and the members of the crowd turn and look, while the two Chunin stand at the door gain a look of annoyance.

I glare at the two Chunin.

"Now, why don't you undo that ridiculous genjutsu so my squad and I can pass?" I ask with an annoyed tone.

"Genjutsu?" The murmur flows through the crowd.

"Genjutsu, what are you talking about?" One of the Chunin asks.

I grin, and I close my eyes in confidence.

"Himeko, why don't you explain, you've got the sharpest eyes of anyone in our class." I ask of her, and she mumbles her agreement.

"It is a genjutsu, I saw right through it." She explains. "The rooms in this building are numbered in a circular pattern going up following the path of the stairs, the third room is around the corner, and this is only room 3-1." Himeko explains.

The reaction is almost instant, and the crowd begins getting angry, and their hatred is pointed at the two Chunin who held them up…

"Well, so you saw through an illusion, good for you." One of them says, and then both of them disappear, and the room number warps, returning to its original, unaltered state.

_Now, maybe we can get somewhere._

The crowd seems to disperse, most of them moving further down the hall toward their destination, a few remaining.

"Shall we go?" I ask the other two.

Both Himeko and Chisato nod.

We start off for the corner, and I hear one of the voices from behind me.

"You, with the black hair and the attitude." I hear a woman's voice. "Wait a minute."

I turn around to see three Shinobi that weren't part of the crowd, and all of them don't look like they belong in the village.

They form a three man squad, and at the front is a girl with shoulder length aqua blue hair, wearing dark blue robes that cover her arms and down to her knees. She wears the headband around her neck, letting it rest on her bosom. She has a rather large bottle on her back that appears to be made of foggy plastic, with a cork at the top that sits behind her left shoulder. Her eyes are a deep blue like a bottomless lake hiding some sort of monster.

The second member of the squad isn't normal looking either. He wears a mask that conceals everything but his face, and is covered head to toe in black clothes, not even his toes are exposed. He wears black socks with the sandals, as if showing any skin other then the bridge of his nose and his eyes were against his religion. On his back he wears a large square shaped backpack that's wrapped in what look like cloth bandages. His headband holds the veil like mask in place, tied around his head.

The third member is probably the most normal looking, wearing a blue t shirt and khaki pants. He stands with his hands in his pockets, his short blonde hair combed perfectly, his blue eyes clear, his appearance that of a pretty boy or a womanizer. His legs are clean, and he wears blue sandals on his feet. At his right hip is a weapons pouch for kunai, and his headband rests on his forehead.

_Ninja of the Village Hidden in the Mist, I guess they're here for the Chunin exams, just like us, but none of them look like they're ordinary Genin._

Seeing as how I heard a female voice, I start at the woman who stands in front, her eyes locked on me.

"What do you want?" I ask. "We're just here to put our applications in." I explain our purpose to them.

"What's your name?" She asks curiosity apparent in her voice.

I look away, ignoring her gaze.

"I don't give my name to people who are rude enough to ask it without first introducing themselves." I respond, putting my back to her.

"Let's go, Himeko, Chisato, we don't have time to be playing with other village Shinobi."

I walk away from the three of them, and my two teammates are quick to follow.

"Are you sure you should have done that Tsuzaku?" Chisato whispers to me. "It looks like you really pissed that girl off!"

I shrug my shoulders.

"Who cares, she wants my name, she'll give me hers first." I tell the girl. "Besides, if she tries anything here, she'll get the crap beat out of her."

We make our way to the application room, and all three of us submit our applications without a problem, the ninja behind the counter taking all three, and then looking us over.

"The exams will be held on the first day of March, exactly 7 days from now at 8 am, you're free to go until then."

The three of us leave the room and head back the way we came. On the way, I expect to run into the team from the Village Hidden in the Mist, but I don't see them, and in the back of my mind, I wonder where they are?

_Isn't any time for that now, I have to get ready for the exams. I can still get a little stronger in seven days; I just have to train…_

The three of us get out of the academy building and onto the street, and I stop, turning and facing the two girls.

"Listen, I've got something I have to do, so I won't be seeing you two until the day of the exam." I explain to them.

Himeko gains a concerned look on her face.

"Where are you going?" She asks. "You aren't going to sleep in the woods are you?"

I shake my head no.

"I've got some training to do under my foster father." I tell them. "I never finished learning taijutsu from him because I was so absorbed in learning to use that sword, now that I don't have that weapon anymore, I need to finish learning taijutsu and perfect my hand to hand."

Chisato nods.

"Basically, you're going to train with your foster father." Chisato simplifies, and I nod.

"Essentially, yes."

"Well, I'm going to do some training too; I know I can improve a little in six days." She explains. "Just make sure you get some rest before you come to take the exam, you're no good to us half dead or strung out on caffeine pills."

I nod.

"The same goes for you two as well." I say, turning my back to the both of them. "I'll see you the day of the exams, at this spot, 1 hour before the exam."

Both Himeko and Chisato nod, and I walk away, not saying good bye to either of them…

_When I finish my training, I'll be strong enough to pass this test, I know it!_

After I leave the two girls, I make my way back to my old home, the house of the man who raised me from an infant baby into the person I am today. As I approach the door to knock, the door opens, and Lee stands there, a grin on his face.

"I knew you would be back." He tells me. "You are here to finish learning taijutsu, correct?"

I nod.

"Yes, Sensei." I say, bowing with my left fist in my right hand. "I'm here to learn the last bit of taijutsu that you never taught me before I became a Genin."

He gives a half smirk.

"Well, let's go to the Dojo, we will need to get started right away if you are going to learn just the techniques in 6 days." He explains as we walk into the house; and through it toward the rear. "Do you think you can handle training with me, nearly non stop for that amount of time?"

I nod.

"I swear it!" I tell him.

I see a smile come to his face, though he hides it.

"We will see." He says.

The days pass, and I'm in hyper intensive training with my sensei, learning in six days what took him much longer to learn. Fortunately, with the help my Sharingan, it makes it easier for me to learn new techniques, and after 6 long days of constant training, I see a grin on his face, at finally mastering the style of taijutsu, I take the last day as a day of rest…

I wake up in a familiar bed, looking up at a ceiling I haven't seen since before I was a Genin. The room is simple, nearly bare bones; save for a tall closet the room contains only the bed. The white walls are undecorated, and the room is lit by a single fixture overhead. I get up, yawning and feeling my muscles slightly aching because of the intense training…

_Guess I overdid it, huh?_

I look to the door, and I see something taped to the back of a door…

_Looks like a piece of paper…_

I throw the blankets off, and I get up, having slept in my clothes I walk to the door, and I grab the paper, seeing it is in fact two pieces of paper, the one on top being a note.

"Tsuzaku, I've got to take care of some business today, and your mom is out on a mission. Since you worked so hard to train, and I know your muscles are probably killing you, I bought you a free soak in the Konoha herbal hot spring, it will relax your muscles and ease the pain, that way you will be ready for the exams, do your best on the test, and you can stay here tonight if you want, and leave the for the exams tomorrow." I say, reading the note.

_Thanks Lee, but your wife isn't my mom, although I appreciate the sentiment. I don't think I should stay here tonight; I should get back and let Himeko know everything went well…_

I take the coupon from behind the note and I crumple the note, leaving the room, I walk out of the house, and as I leave, I look up at the small home, and I remember spending my younger days here, most of the time reading, or running around the yard playing imaginary games. I never had the desire to be a ninja until I was 7, and I remember it clear as day…

I had gone to the market to buy some groceries to help my foster parents out, and on the way, a group of children my age spotted me, and started taunting me, calling me a filthy outsider and that I was a parentless freak…

Needless to say, I got sad, the taunts made me feel miserable, but something inside me began to stir. I wanted the kids to shut up, more then anything; I wanted them to stop calling me names. Somehow I threw a punch, and I hit the closet one in the jaw. I wasn't very strong. I don't even think I made him stagger, and he decided to fight back. The three of them were going to gain up on me and beat me into the ground. I wanted to scream, but instead, I felt something stir inside me. In a moment, I could see what they were going to do, I could predict their movements, and I managed to knock each and every one of them to the ground, somehow being able to read into their movements.

I had no idea what was going on, or even how I managed to do what I did. It was only after the fact, that I explained to Lee what happened, and he told me to remember what it felt like, and when I did, the Sharingan came into my eyes. He recognized it, and told me I'd been born with an incredible ability. He said I should study to become a ninja, and I could become a powerful Shinobi. I took his encouragement, and as I studied, I learned what I was capable of, and that I shouldn't use the power indiscriminately.

I shake my head and clear the memories from it.

_Now isn't the time to be thinking about the past, now is the time to be thinking about the present, like the Chunin exams that are TOMORROW! Go get a soak in the spring and relax, because starting tomorrow you won't get the chance…_

I walk from my old home to the hot springs, and I hand the girl at the counter the coupon, and she leads me into the appropriate changing room. After I get undressed, I grab a towel and head for the bath, slipping gently into the hot water, leaving the two at the edge of the pool behind my head.

The bath is a basically a giant tub carved into the rock, with a 20 foot high wall that separates the male from the female side. I sit in the male half of the pool, my head against the back of the pool, my eyes half closed, the hot water relaxing my muscles and relieving the pain and strain from the near constant training…

"This is the life…" I mutter.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Well, I only posted this a few days ago, and already got a positive response to the story as a whole, and I'll use this space to answer the questions asked, as best I can. The reviewer asked who the parents of the three main characters are, and this is what I can say: Tsuzaku's mother died in childbirth, Himeko: I'm a big NaruHina fan, so you can probably figure it out, Chisato: Her parents are relatively new immigrants to the village from The Land of Earth, and I don't really go into them that much…

Chapter 6: The World Begins to Move…

I finish my bath at the bath house without any problem, although I could hear someone in the female side was caught peeping, to the raucous outcries of the various female bathers. I shake my head at the thought of spying on women while they bathe, and the thought just seems really disgusting and low to me…

_Why bother sneaking a peek at a girl, when if you're good enough, you get them to take their clothes off for you?_

I raise my eyebrows and shake my head at the thought.

_Where did that come from, I've never even remotely thought anything like that before?_

I shake my head and I walk back to Himeko's home, even though it's late, I still walk slowly, my hands in my pockets, and as I look up at the sky, I think about what tomorrow will bring, and I shrug my shoulders.

"What will be will be, and there isn't anything I can do to change it."

I walk back to the home, and even though it's late, someone is awake to greet me.

The one called Neji stands in the front room, his arms crossed as I enter the home.

"You've decided to return?" He asks, disdain in his voice.

_Guess he'll only treat me with respect when Hinata's around._

"Yes, I'd let to get some sleep, so you don't have to notify Hinata, it's already late, and I don't want to wake her."

"Very well, you know your way."

He walks away, and I make my own way back to my given room in the mansion. As I go inside, I just fall on the bed, having just bathed and gotten clean during my dip in the hot spring…

_Bed, bed is good…_

I barely manage to get the covers pulled up over my body my eyes close and I lose consciousness, slipping into a peaceful sleep…

I see I'm standing in a room, the room is dark, and I can barely make out anything out of a five foot radius around me. I look down, and I see two bodies, an older man and woman laying there, their throats slit, blood oozing onto the floor, slowly spreading on the ground. I feel the hilt of a katana in my right hand, and as I look down at both the sword and corpses I feel a sense of satisfaction in my mind, at seeing the dead bodies laying there, a testament to my handiwork…

The door in front of me slides open, and I see a boy standing in the doorway, no more then five or six years old. I can see fear and despair in his eyes; he trembles as he looks at me and the two bodies lying on the floor…

"Brother…" His voice quakes as he talks. "Brother, what happened to mom and dad, why aren't they moving?"

A part of me stirs at the naivety of the child's question, and a strange feeling at seeing him standing there, yet I don't respond.

"Brother, answer me, what'd you do to MOM and DAD?"

My eyes pop open, and I sit up quickly, scared out of my mind, and as I realize where I am and what's going on, I realize that I was only dreaming…

"Only a dream…" I mutter, and I look down at my hands, covered in sweat.

_Dream, no, that was more then a mere dream, that was too real, too vivid for something my subconscious cooked up. No, all it didn't feel like a dream, more like, a memory…_

I shake my head, and I wipe the sweat from my hands on the blanket, glancing down at my watch, I see there's an hour until the exams begin…

_I've got an hour, I should probably get cleaned up, that'll help me relax, and forget about whatever it was I just experienced…_

As I'm thinking about bathing, I'm already getting up and heading for the bathroom. Like some older rich homes, this house has a large, ornate bathroom with a large tub. I know enough about it to use it, though I never have. Himeko and I cleaned it recently, and she explained enough of it to me that I could clean myself up there…

I walk with my bare feet against the wooden floor, making sure to keep my footsteps quiet; it still somewhat early and I don't want to wake Hinata or Himeko if they're still asleep. I make my way to the bathroom quietly, and I open the door a crack and I peek inside, seeing the light is off, and no one is inside…

_Good, I can do this in peace._

I slip inside and I hit the light switch near the door, and I begin to disrobe, getting undressed rather quickly, I find bathing supplies in a nearby closet, and I put them all in small yellow plastic bucket…

_Bar of soap, wash cloth, shampoo…_

I go to one of the small, mini shower stalls that are infamous in many public bathhouses in Japan, and I make use of it, keeping the soap dry and using the tools to clean my body, leaving my watch on so I can see what time it is.

After I scrub myself off and rinse off, I see I've still got 45 minutes until the exams. I glance to the large tub, and I walk to it, seeing its empty, and I sigh, realizing that they aren't going to keep water in the tub…

"Well, didn't really have time for a soak anyway." I mutter to myself, sitting back down at the stall.

I rinse myself off one more time, and then I walk across the bathroom, finding 2 towels in another closet and I use the soft towels to dry my skin, and I run one through my hair, taking most of the water out of my hair, and I figure I can let the rest air dry. I shake my head, and I know I need to brush my hair and style it, so I get dressed once I'm sure I'm dry, and then I find a mirror in the bathroom, and a brush in one of the closets, running the tool through my hair to groom myself, and when I finish, I feel as though I look somewhat presentable…

_Okay, done with that crap, now it's time to head toward the academy, can't hurt to be a little early, and be waiting on the two girls…_

As I leave the bathroom, I hear footsteps to my left, and I turn and I see Himeko standing there, fully dressed and look like she's ready to go.

"Tsuzaku, so this is where you are." She says as I turn out the light and close the door.

"Yeah, I had to take a bath, I was sweaty when I woke up, guess I had a bad dream."

She raises her eyebrows.

"Do you want to talk about your dream?"

I shake my head.

"It was just a dream after all, and it doesn't mean anything."

She shrugs.

"All right, well, if you're ready, we should get going, and they won't let us take the test if we're late."

I nod my agreement.

"Let's go."

We both walk to the front of the home, and I slip into the sandals, and she does into hers. We both leave the house together, and as we walk, I think about what Lee said to me before I ended up going to sleep, right as we finished training…

_'Remember, only use this Jutsu as a last resort, if you try and use it and you mess it up, it could hospitalize you for the rest of your life.'_

"Tsuzaku, are you all right, you look like you're thinking about something?"

I nod.

"I was just thinking about the training I did with my foster father, and the last thing he told me before I finished the training."

"What did he tell you?"

"To be careful at the exams, because many times, things are not what they seem."

The two of us arrive quickly at the designated meeting spot, and soon enough, Chisato shows up, wearing her normal ninja gear, just as the two of us are.

"Well, should we get going?" She asks, and both Himeko and I nod.

"Yeah, the tests aren't going to wait."

The three of us make our way inside, and we walk toward the designated room, and I see Ishikawa sensei standing outside the room.

"Well, it looks like the three of you are ready to go." He explains.

"Sensei, what are you doing here?" I ask.

"I'm here to see you three off to the tests." He tells me.

"Do you honestly think that we can't make it, sensei?" Himeko asks.

He grins.

"That depends solely on each of your individual actions." He tells us. "If the three of you work together, you'll make it all just fine." He explains.

He opens the door for us, and the three of us walk inside, entering the large classroom. Inside, I nearly gasp at the sight…

Genin, from every village imaginable all sit inside the classroom, and all of them have their eyes locked on the three of us, the three newest Genin to enter the class. I take two steps forward, and both Himeko and Chisato follow me into the room, and I look around, seeing all of the Genin eying the three of us…

"Aren't those three of the rookies who are taking the test this year?" One male voice asks.

I shrug it off and I walk to an open section of the wall, leaning against it with my arms crossed, my eyes closed.

"Tsuzaku, everyone is staring at us…" Himeko tells me.

I nod.

"We're first year Genin, of course we're going to get stared at, and it isn't very often that first year Genin are recommended for this exam." I tell her. "Maybe Ishikawa really does want us dead."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Chisato agrees with me.

_That's really bad, the three of us are supposed to respect a man that doesn't care about us and sends us on missions and to tests that are more then likely going to kill us. But, at least, we've met the challenges he's sent our way, and we've beaten them all head on, and we're all stronger for it…_

"No matter what, I won't let us lose." Himeko says, trying to make us all feel better about taking the exam.

_It isn't you I'm worried about Himeko, before we got here, I felt somewhat confident about all this, I felt like the three of us could actually pass the exam, but with all this competition, and I'm sure everyone will be out gunning for us, since we're the rookies and are probably the weakest squad here…_

The door at the far end of the classroom opens, and I don't have time to think any more negative thoughts, as the proctor for the exam walks in, wearing a long black robe that covers his shoulders, and tied with a dark blue sash around his waist. He wears a headband on his forehead from our village, and looks to be in his mid thirties. His face is cold and stern, the facial lines crisp and well defined. His body is mostly covered, and he walks with his arms behind his back.

Then, what follows him makes my eyes go wide.

Shinobi, all dressed in gray uniforms file into the room and take up positions around the room, bringing chairs with them, they move any Genin standing near the walls and take seats around the room, all of them carrying a clipboard in their left hand…

_What the hell is going on?_

"Okay Maggots, time to listen up!" The Proctor yells with a harsh tone, obviously meant to gain our attention.

_Whatever you wanna say, you've got my attention…_

"My name is Hajime Nakata, and I'm the Proctor for this first stage of this Chunin exam." He explains. "And from this moment on, each of you is going to hate my guts."

With that profound declaration, the class falls quiet as the Proctor takes a piece of chalk in hand.

"All of you will approach the front, one at a time in a single file line, and give me your ninja information card, then you will be assigned a seat, and then your tests will be given out, any questions?" He demands.

The classroom is deafly silent, and he grins.

"Good then, form a single file line, and be quick about it!"

The class does as instructed, and Himeko, Chisato, and I all get in line together, and we each approach the front desk one at a time, and we are all given our seating assignments, and when the third of us is sat, I look around, and I see that they've placed the three of us in separate sections of the classroom…

_No doubt they know that we're on a squad together, and they want to keep us apart to prevent us from copying answers off of each other to increase our scores…_

After the last of the students is seated, the proctor turns to the board and starts writing, as one of the gray clad shinobi walks around, handing out tests…

"This is a ten question test." The proctor begins. "You are not to start until I give the word, is that understood?" He asks as he writes. "Anyone starting before I give the word will immediately fail, along with his two squad mates."

The words echo in my head, and I leave the paper and pencil alone as the Chunin hands them out with a stone faced expression on his face.

"Now, I'll explain the rules of the exam." He begins. "Unlike other tests, each of you will start out with a perfect score of ten points."

There's a murmur throughout the classroom, and I don't know how many of the assembled Genin have taken the test before.

"That being said, there are Eagle eyed shinobi stationed everywhere around this room, every time they catch you cheating, they'll take a point off of your test." He explains. "When you've been caught four times, you immediately fail, along with the other members of your squad." He continues. "Also, you will all be graded as a squad, which means that your individual scores will be added together and then divided by three, if that number comes to less then 50, you all lose."

I feel a weight in my stomach, as I realize that I can kill both Himeko and Chisato's chances of passing the exam if I bomb the test…

_Relax, you've never outright failed a test before, so don't worry. Both Himeko and Chisato are smart, they'll score high enough that it'll even out our total…_

"Also, should any of you score a 0; all three of you will fail, regardless of the other two test scores." The proctor continues.

I feel like I just got stabbed in the chest with a knife…

_Okay, all this means is that I just have to get at least 1 question right, that's all, and hope that Chisato and Himeko can both do really well…_

"Now, finally, the test in front of you only has 9 questions." He explains. "The tenth question won't be given until 15 minutes before the test is over, are there any questions?"

I raise my hand, and the proctor points to me.

"Yes, you, what is it?"

"What's the total time limit for the test?"

He grins.

"Good question and I was just getting to that." He begins. "Total, you all will be given 3 hours to complete the test. Any blank questions at that point will be treated as incorrect, and anyone attempting to go over the time limit will immediately fail, regardless of his score, and he will take the other members of his squad with him in failure."

_Jeez, strict rules much? Well, all I have to do is make sure I get the questions answered before he announces the final question, that's all…_

"If there are no other questions, you may begin your tests, now." He tells us.

There's a collective sound of paper flipping over, and eyes hitting the first problem…

_Okay, the first problem looks like some sort of decoding…_

I stare at the problem for a few seconds…

_I can't make heads or tails of this, let's move on…_

I skip the first problem and move to second one…

_This one looks like an algebra problem that involves theory and physics, how the hell can I be expected to solve this?_

I go through the rest of the test, skimming the problems, and I see each of them gets harder and harder as the test goes on…

_I can't answer any of these problems! This is impossible, there isn't any way to pass, unless…_

I look around the room, at the sentries watching the class, and I see them writing down names…

_They're catching people already, jeez. I guess I'm not the only one who can't answer these things. Although now that I think about it, it's like they're daring us to cheat. Ninja are supposed to be masters of stealth and subterfuge, and be able to disguise our actions, so it isn't as though cheating is against the rules, only cheating that gets you caught is. They're daring us to cheat without getting caught, to prove that we can gather information without being discovered, genius…_

_Well, now that I know what I have to do, all I have to do is…_

I look around the room, this time at the other students, and I see one of them eagerly writing answers down on the test…

_I guess I've found my pigeon; I just have to hope that this guy is as smart as I think he is…_

_Sharingan!_

I call the dojutsu into my eyes, and I go to work, using the copy power of my kekkei genkai to copy the movements of his pencil, and my plan works perfectly. I mimic the movements of his pen on the page, and I get the answer to every problem, except the first one, swearing to myself that I should've thought to do this earlier as he finishes the test after only an hour, and as I lay the pencil down, a sentinel speaks up.

"Number 32, failed!" He yells.

Another speaks.

"Number 13, failed."

Yet another speaks up.

"Number 29, failed."

The Shinobi who are named all get up and start protesting, but the sentinels take them and their squad mates and lead them out of the room. I look to Himeko, and I see her studiously working at the test and with my Sharingan, I can see her using her Byakugan…

_I think I remember reading somewhere that the Hyuga's Byakugan allows them to see through most objects if they focus on it, which means she's seeing through a nearby ninja's body and reading his answers, and copying them, clever, Himeko…_

I turn to face Chisato, and I see a clone of her sitting at her spot, writing answers on the test, and I can see her with my Sharingan, moved away from her desk and reading another student's paper, using a genjutsu…

_Unreal, she can make herself invisible? When did she learn that technique, she's never used anything like that before, so how can she do it now? Is it something she learned during the last week from one of her clan members' maybe? I don't know, but I don't see the sentinel near her marking anything down, maybe he's already got her for using the genjutsu once, and that's all the points she'll be docked…_

I see a sentinel near her start marking something, and then he opens his mouth to speak.

_Oh no, don't let him fail Chisato…_

"Number 17, failed!" He yells, and I feel a sigh of relief pass through me.

_Chisato, Himeko and I are all numbered 18, 19, and 20, which means it was the person before me that was plucked, thankfully Chisato is number 20…_

I watch as she finishes cheating and then stealthily sneaks back into her seat, undoing the clone jutsu and the genjutsu at nearly the same time, the clone fading out as she fades back in, executed so well that without my Sharingan, I doubt I'd have even seen it…

_Well, either way, she's going to pass, and I've got 8 correct answers here, and I'm sure Himeko will have all the problems right before too long, so now, I just sit back and wait for the 15 minute buzzer…_

The Sharingan leaves my eyes, and I sit there, looking around and watching as the sentinels continue to speak, and continue to pluck students from the crowd of Shinobi, until I see the proctor look around, and I look at my watch, and see that 2 hours and 45 minutes has passed on the dot…

_Okay, time for the last question…_

"All right, now, it's time for the last question." The proctor begins, causing the students to look up. "But, before I begin, I should add that there are going to be some special rules from this point on, and I'll explain them now."

I raise my eyebrows.

_New rules, what is it now, do we have to stick a kunai into our arms and write the answer in our own blood or something?_

"For this last question, you're given a choice, you can choose to not take the question, and then you and your squad will immediately fail, regardless of the other 9 problems." He continues, pausing to let that sink in.

_Well, that's not an option, so that can't be the rule; they're no motivation to quit if that's what's going to happen…_

"Or, you can attempt to pass the last question, and if you fail the question, you'll never be allowed to take this exam again!" He tells us all. "You'll be stuck as Genin for the rest of your lives, and you'll never advance."

There's a murmur through the crowd, and I clench my right fist.

_That's got to be a lie, there are people here who've taken this test before and failed, and they're still here, so how can he do that?_

One of the other shinobi voices his protest.

"That's bull!" He yells. "There are Genin here who've taken the test before and failed, and they're still here, so you've got to be full of it." The student says.

I see the proctor smile.

"While that may be true, did it ever occur to you that maybe I wasn't the one making the rules those other times, but I'm the one making the rules now."

I growl under my breath…

_Talk about a shitty choice, wimp out now and fail, or take the question and if you fail, we'll be stuck as Genin for the rest of our lives, what a shitty choice, it's almost a no win situation…_

"Well, would any of you like to quit now?" He asks, his tone a seductive one. "No one will hold it against you, after all, if you take the question and fail it, then you'll be stuck as Genin forever, at least if you give up now, you'll have the option of coming back." He continues. "Any maybe next time, I won't be the proctor for the exam."

I see students raising their hands, and the sentinels speak as the shinobi raise their hands, admitting defeat and also destroying their entire squad's chances of passing the test this time around…

_At least they'll get another chance…_

I feel tempted to raise my hand, and as I look at Chisato and Himeko as well, I can see the thought waving in their minds, the desire to give up now and try again, the desire to chicken out, festering in my stomach and behind their eyes…

_No, I won't chicken out! I swore that I was going to conquer whatever challenge I'm faced with, and this is NO different!_

I slam my right fist down onto the desk, and the sound draws the attention of the proctor.

"You think that's going to scare me?" I demand of him. "Well, if you think I'm scared, then you're dumber then you look!" I yell to the entire class. "I'll take EVERYTHING you got and more, and I'll just give it all back, with interest!" I tell him strongly. "So bring on your last question, and let's get this test over with!"

I yell, half to let out the feelings in my stomach, as well as communicate to Chisato and Himeko that I have no intention of giving up. I hear a murmur go through the class as I sit back in the seat, and from what I can tell, the remaining Shinobi seem to draw inspiration from my speech, as if agreeing with me that they're going to do the same thing, they just couldn't bring themselves to say it…

I see the proctor eyeing me with cold, emotionless eyes, as if he's analyzing my posture, scrutinizing me from head to toe, and I can see thoughts whirling around his mind, and then his eyes shift to each side of the room, and I see most of the sentinels give a thumbs up motion, and I raise my eyebrows…

_What's going on…?_

"Well, if that's everyone, then I only have one more thing to say to all of you." He pauses, letting us all hang on the precipice of suspense.

"You all pass." He says simply, a grin on his face.

There's almost a collective 'What?' from the entire class, and he starts talking in response to the general mood of the class.

"Most of you are probably wondering what the tenth question was, and in honesty, when you all answered to stay here and take the tenth question, regardless of the consequences, you answered it."

I raise my eyebrows…

"You see, there are times in a ninja's life when things look bleak, you may walk into a situation where you very well are going to die, but does that mean you can simply walk away from the mission? No, you can't, and anyone who puts their own lives before honor will never become a Chunin, and that is the motto of the entire Village Hidden in the Leaves." He explains. "The first part of the test, the first 9 questions, was all meant as a test themselves." He continues. "The problems you faced where problems that no Genin can possibly be expected to solve, and yet you had to solve them anyway. That left you with two options, you could give up and go home, to try again, or you could cheat to win." He explains. "The only option you were left with was to cheat, to find someone who knew the answers and steal them from him, which is a practice Chunin used called information gathering, which is just as important to a ninja mission as any jutsu." He continues. "Bad information can lead you into a trap, or incorrect information can lead your teammates to slaughter, which means you must know how to effectively and properly gather information." He continues. "But, cheating is useless if there's no one to cheat off of, so I had 6 Chunin who knew the answers sit in with you all disguised as genin." He explains.

6 of the students stand up, and the one I copied off of stands up and waves to the class.

"Now, if you're all finished, you're all dismissed." He says. "The next stage of the exam will take place tomorrow, and the Jounin outside will have all the information you need."

As the 6 Chunin get up and leave, I look around and take a quick head count as the remaining students stand up, and altogether 33 students are left standing, with some quick math, I figure out that means that 11 teams passed the exam, with the majority of the more then 70 Genin class failing the first exam…

_Damn, that's one out of two squads was going to fail…_

I look closer, and I see the waterfall Shinobi who asked me my name when I put my application in is still in the test, along with her two squad mates…

_Well, the next phase of the test should be interesting…_

Chisato, Himeko and I all leave the room, and we get directions to the next phase of the test, and the three of us leave the building, and I can still feel the adrenaline in my body beginning to thin out from the tension I felt during the test…

"You know Tsuzaku, I was really impressed with that speech you made right before we all passed." Chisato comments to me. "Before, I felt like I should quit, I thought that maybe I might end up failing the question, and I knew that you two would never forgive me if we were all stuck as Genin because of my own mistake, and then I heard you speak, and I just felt like I was stupid for thinking I was going to fail."

Himeko speaks up.

"I agree with Chisato, Tsuzaku." She tells me. "That speech of yours inspired me to keep going, and gave me the courage to not quit."

I scratch the back of my head in embarrassment.

"To tell the truth…" I begin. "I really wanted to quit too, and then I saw the two of you thinking about it in your eyes, and I just felt stupid for wanting to give up, so I made up that speech on the spot, as a way to tell myself that I was not going to quit, and to tell you two not to quit as well." I tell them. "So, I wouldn't expect to see more from me like that, it was a one time deal."

Chisato shrugs.

"Whatever, I'm just happy to still be in this thing, and still able to take it again if we should fail."

I nod.

"Me too." I agree.

"Me three…" Himeko chimes in.

Then, I remember the Genjutsu I saw Chisato use, the technique that made her invisible.

"Chisato, just what jutsu did you use during the test to cheat and get the answers off of that guy?" I ask.

She looks surprised.

"You saw that?" She asks. "Well, I guess that's to be expected; with that Sharingan of yours you can see a lot of things." She explains.

"Yeah, so what technique did you use?" I ask. "I've never seen any jutsu like that?"

"Well, it's a genjutsu that a member of my clan developed, it's an excessive strain on your chakra, and the longer you use it, the more chakra is drained from your body to maintain it." She explains. "Right now, I couldn't use the technique again, and I'd be little help if we had to continue the test today."

"You mean; you used a jutsu that didn't give you another use, only a one shot deal?"

She nods.

"I knew that once I used the jutsu, I had to get the answers quickly, that's why I waited so long to do it, plus combined with the clone and replacement jutsu I had to use to sneak away, my chakra is completely drained."

I smile.

"Well, you're going to have to teach me that Genjutsu sometime, it sounds like a really useful technique." I tell her.

She grins.

"Well, if I did, what jutsu are you going to teach me, you don't have any other techniques that I want to know, and I already showed you how to close your own wounds as payment for the Mirugan?"

I nod, waving my hand.

"I know, I know, I was just saying, sometime down the line, but for now, I'll have to keep in mind that you can do something like that, it's definitely going to come in handy."

As the three of us walk, my mind drifts back to the Exams, and what's in store for us next…

_I don't know what's going on, but I hope that by the end of it, the three of us can advance to the Chunin level, but I don't know if we're all capable of doing so…_

We walk for about 100 feet, and then Chisato opens her mouth.

"Well, I'm gonna go head back to my house, I feel like I should get some sleep and rest up, so I'll see you all at the second phase tomorrow."

She walks away at that, leaving Himeko and I to each other, as if trying to force the two of us to spend time alone…

_Whatever, that girl has never had any sort of feeling like that toward any of us, so why would she go out of her way to get away from us unless she just doesn't like being around us? If that were the case, she's probably hoping that the two of us will somehow fail and she'll pass, so that way she has a legitimate excuse to break up the squad…_

"Tsuzaku, are you thinking about something?" Himeko asks, and I shake my head.

"Nah, nothing much, just about random stuff, that and the next phase of the exam." I respond.

"You know, you're an amazing person Tsuzaku, you can keep a cool head, and you don't let on that you're nervous or anything, and you act so calm, I wish I was more like you."

I shake my head.

"It's nothing really." I tell her. "I just put things in perspective." I tell her. "When something bad happens, I just think that I'm still in control of my body, and I can at least do something about the problem, and it seems to keep me calm."

I see her face gain a solemn expression.

"That thing, it really has you worried doesn't it?"

I nod.

"Yeah, it does, it scares me to death to even think about it."

"Well, either way, you think we should head home too, since we've got the test tomorrow too?" Himeko asks.

I nod.

"Yeah, we probably should head home; we should get our rest for tomorrow, just like Chisato is doing."

The two of us head back to Himeko's home, and when we get there, I head straight for my room, preferring to spend the remainder of the day alone, rather then with the Hyuga clan heir…

_I still don't know exactly how to treat her. She treats me like she wants a meaningful relationship with me, but the way her family works, no matter what I do, no matter how hard I work, they'll always treat me like an outsider because I don't look like they do. I don't know if I should try and nurture a relationship with her, or just cut her off at all. She's nice, and she's cute, but do I really want to try anything with her, I mean, that Neji guy scares the crap out of me…_

I close the door to my room behind me and I move to the bed, and I fall on it, looking to my left and toward the wall, and I sigh heavily, closing my eyes as I lay there, and I feel sleep come rather easily…

I wake up at 5 am…

I look to the clock on the desk, and I see it's still three hours until the test begins. I get up and I sit on the edge of the bed, reaching into my kunai pouch, and I pull one of the knives from it, looking at the blade as I flip it around in my hand, rotating the knife. I look at the edge on the weapon, and I get up, leaving the room and moving about the house, knowing exactly where I need to go…

_They have a weapons room here that they use for working on ninja weapons, and they keep a stock here for family use. Since I'm living here, I'll just be using some of their kunai and Shuriken. _

I make my way to the weapons room, and I go to work, starting to sharpen the kunai in my possession, and I grab several more, and then I take some shuriken, loading up on ninja weapons over the course of two hours. When I finish, I make my way to Himeko's room, and I gently knock on the door, with only an hour until the test…

"Himeko, are you in there?" I ask through the door, and I hear a muffled response.

I open my mouth to respond, and the door opens a crack, and I see her head appear in the crack.

"I just need a minute to finish getting prepared, and then we can head out."

I nod.

"I'll be waiting out here."

I now wear a small backpack on my back, just really a small bag held over my left shoulder and running diagonally across my chest. I stand there, and after a few minutes, Himeko emerges from the room with a gentle smile on her face.

"Are you ready to go?" She asks.

I nod.

"I've been ready and waiting, so let's go."

The two of us leave her house and we walk toward the second stage of the exams. We walk rather quickly, and when we arrive, I can see that other shinobi have already gathered, and they've already set up stands around the training zone, and shortly after we arrive, I see Chisato approach us in the grassy area, the sun having just risen in the sky as the time for the exam slowly approaches…

"I see the two of you made it on time." She points out.

I nod.

"We did nothing but rest yesterday, so we're both well rested, and we're both as ready as we're going to be for this test."

The three of us stand in the middle of the field, and we wait on the Chunin proctor, who stands near the fence of the training area, her hands on his hips…

_Well, at least I assume that's the proctor for this stage of the exam…_

The proctor stands roughly 5 feet 8 inches tall, with short dark hair. She wears a fishnet top, with a ninja vest over her chest. She wears a pair of short black shorts that extend down to mid thigh, with fishnets running down her legs to her sandals, which are like so many other ninja shoes. Her skin seems smooth, and her face unscarred. Her skin is smooth, and it appears as though she takes care of herself. Her facial features are proportionate, and her lips locked into a cold flat expression…

_Jeez, guess she's not too happy to be a part of these exams…_

I turn back to my teammates, and I start a conversation…

"Since we entered as a squad, no doubt we're going to have to work as a team to survive." I explain. "And every team needs a leader."

They both look at me, and then to each other.

"I don't want to do it." Himeko says immediately. "I don't think I'm ready for that level of responsibility."

_Well, at least when Ishikawa was here, he could claim rank and take the reins, but now it's just the three of us, and we have to work this out amongst ourselves._

"I'll do it." Chisato chimes in, looking at me, expecting an argument.

I nod simply.

"That works for me." I respond, and I see a puzzled look on her face.

"You mean; you aren't going to try and take command of our team?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"Just because you've been promoted to 'team leader' doesn't mean that I have to do what you say." I tell her. "Looking at the job, I feel as though it's a stupid thing to do for what little benefit." I explain. "After all, team leader takes point position on missions, leading the way, and it's usually the person in front that gets killed first."

I see her grimace.

"So you basically let me take the job?" She asks.

I nod.

"I don't care if you think you can order me, you can try, I'm only going to obey your orders as long as I see fit, the minute I don't agree with something you tell me, I'll just do what I think it best, and that's the end of the story."

She gives me a nasty look.

"So, basically you're telling me that you're not going to be a loyal subordinate?"

I shrug.

"I'll only do what you want as long as I feel it's right, there isn't any other way for me to slice it."

She doesn't respond again, and the three of us move on, and we start discussing strategy for the next part of the exam between ourselves, and I hear the proctor clear her throat, and then yell out.

"Listen up Maggots!" She yells. "My name is Chie Yuzuki, and I'm your proctor for the second phase of this Chunin exam." She tells us. "You'll all listen to me, and you'll all approach this desk in your squad assignments, and you'll all put in your applications, and then you'll receive one of two scrolls." She explains, holding up a black and a white scroll, one marked with the symbol for heaven, and the other marked with the symbol for earth. "You'll each get one of these, and the goal of the exam is for you to gain the other type of scroll, and then come to the center of the training area, once there you'll await instructions for the third stage of the exam."

With that, the entire group nods, and we all form a line, and proctor points to squads of genin, calling them forward one on one. When the time comes for our turn in line, the three of us approach the draped in booth, and we go inside, handing over our paperwork, and after the ninja behind the counter makes sure everything is in order, he hands a black scroll forward. Chisato takes it and pockets it, and then the three of us exit the booth and the ninja outside gives us directions.

"Head to entrance 12-A." He explains.

The three of us leave for the entrance into the fenced in battle field. We stop there, and the ninja that guards the gate stares at the three of us, and I can only imagine what is going through the ninja's head…

_Whatever, that doesn't matter now, the only thing that matters is that we're on our way to passing the second phase of this exam, and the only thing we have to do is get a heaven scroll, and then make our way to the center of the field, and that's all she wrote._

We stand there for minutes in silence as the ninja glares at us, and then finally, I see him motion toward his ear, indicating he's wearing a radio receiver in his ear, and he nods.

"All right then, the test officially begins now!" He tells us, undoing the locks on the gates, and swinging them open.

The three of us nod, and we all take off into the battlefield, running at full speed…

_We're all ready, and I know we can do this…_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Revolving Around and Around.

_We've been in this battle training ground for almost 5 hours now, and we haven't seen another team of shinobi yet…_

The three of us remain hidden in the foliage around a small clearing within the forest. We've all taken up spots around the clearing with our backs against trees, giving us some protection, and we can all see each other, and we're all watching each other's backs as we wait for a team of shinobi to come into the clearing…

_The minute a team does arrive; they'll be meat in a butcher factory…_

I don't know if we chose an obvious place for an ambush, but the terrain works best in our favor here, and we might get lucky, and get a stupid team of genin who aren't thinking about the terrain and walk right into it, hoping they get ambushed…

I see movement on my left, and my eyes fixate on it, seeing three older shinobi emerge from the bushes and advance slowly, and I can tell that both Himeko and Chisato have their eyes locked onto this team as well…

The ninja are dressed in black robes, and I can't make out the village symbol on their headband, although I can see a white scroll poking out of the vest of one of them, and I know immediately that these are preverbal cash cows…

_Now, I'll use my Sharingan to see through any tricks, and then signal the ambush…_

I turn the kekkei genkai on in my eyes, and I look on, seeing that the three of them appear to be real, honest to god humans, with no ninjutsu or genjutsu around them…

I give the signal, and at the same time, the three of us emerge from our hiding spots.

"Now!" I yell, letting fly with 5 kunai toward the genin.

Chisato and Himeko spring into action, cutting the rope traps and sending the two logs spiked with kunai toward the three ninja. The leader leaps away, and the other two are caught between the two logs, and are impaled on them, and I watch as they disappear into a puff of smoke…

_Shadow clones, how the hell could he use shadow clones and manage to fool my Sharingan and at the same time, manage to smuggle them in past all the shinobi guards?_

I don't have time to answer my own question as the lead ninja charges for me, and I see a kunai in his hand. I'm still in mid air, and he throws the weapon at me, throwing four of knives toward me. I pull a kunai from my pouch, and I use it to block the other weapons, and I see him begin to make hand signs…

_Another jutsu; and that sequence of hand signs, I don't recognize it…_

I watch as his body is enveloped in a cloud of smoke, and I land on the ground, seeing the smoke clear and he's gone…

_Maybe he didn't use a jutsu, but somehow managed to maneuver in mid air?_

I see something out of the corner of my eye, and I jump, seeing a knife come down out of nowhere, and I realize that the shinobi is using a genjutsu to conceal his body…

I make a hand sign, and I dispel the flow of chakra, and I watch as the veil of invisibility fades, and I see the man standing there, charging for me…

I block his knife with my own blade, and I push him off, and I see him land on his feet and hop back.

"So, you can see me now, managed to dispel the flow of chakra through your body to remove its effects, huh?" He asks, glaring at me.

Now that I get a good look at him, I can tell that he's older then the average Genin, and appears to be in his late twenties, if not into his thirties…

"I can't say that I think you're a normal genin, so what the hell are you doing here?" I ask. "You're no genin, so who are you?"

He growls.

"You're right, I'm no Genin, my name is Akira Kentarou, and I'm the leader of the Yamikage, the group that you and that damn Jounin that was leading you stopped in the Village Hidden in the Waterfall."

_He's got to be a Jounin or higher level ninja, and that just means he snuck in here…_

"So, you're here to try and kill the three genin that were part of stopping your coup, you're an awfully resentful person."

He smiles.

"I'm going to kill you just because it's going to make me feel better, and then I'm going to hunt down your sensei, and then I'm going to murder him as well."

I start making hand signs, and I see Chisato and Himeko begin to move.

"Himeko, Chisato, stay back!" I tell them. "I'll handle him on my own…"

_I have to try and use the modified flame sword jutsu I created…_

"Now what, are you going to try and use a ninjutsu?" He asks.

I shake my head.

"Try this one on for size!" I yell out, holding my hand down toward the ground, my fingers coiled, and my palm toward the ground.

I focus my chakra on my palm, and I glare at him, the Sharingan in my eyes. I use the jutsu, and I can see the chakra around his body, and he makes no move to even try and avoid my attack as I charge the jutsu on my hand, feeling the heat of the fire chakra…

"A fire jutsu huh, I didn't think loser genin from the Leaf Village could use fire jutsu." He says.

I grin.

"Have a taste of this!" I yell.

I raise my right arm up and hold it in front of my chest, pointing my palm toward the sky.

"Ethereal Flame Fist Jutsu!" I shout.

I release chakra through my legs and I charge forward at my maximum speed, moving like a blur of motion, and I thrust my right palm forward, jabbing my hand into the Jounin's chest…

I remember what Lee said to me when I first showed him the modified jutsu…

_'It's only because of that Sharingan that you can create such a devastating jab. If you attack at your full speed at a person's front without your Sharingan, you risk opening yourself to a counter attack, and you probably will never be able to avoid it…_

I feel my fist hit his chest, and it knocks him back, and I hear him groan in pain as my technique knocks him back…

I stand there with my fist extended, and I see the Jounin glare at me, and I can feel the thing inside me begin to stir…

_No, not now…_

I grab at my heart, feeling the creature's grip on my body begin to get stronger…

_This can't happen, not now…_

"What's this?" He asks, looking at me. "It would seem your stance has faltered, and that confidence you had is gone now." He explains.

In a moment, Himeko and Chisato are standing in front of me. Himeko stands in a Gentle fist stance, and Chisato holds a kunai in front of her, the knife coming out of the bottom of her hand…

"So, you rely on women to protect you?" He asks. "You're a pathetic person."

I hear Chisato smirk.

"You're in no condition to fight, whether or not you want to admit it, Tsuzaku's attack did hurt you, and the only reason you didn't move is because you thought he was so weak that his jutsu wouldn't do anything, but the technique he hit you with managed to hurt you, and if you try to fight us, you'll be slowed, and that will give us exactly what we need to kill you."

He groans, and then he nods, and I begin to feel my consciousness slip away…

_No, I must've used too much chakra with that last jutsu, and now this thing is trying to take over again!_

I fight against it, and I feel my eyes get heavy, and they close, feeling my body go limp as I fall toward the ground.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" I hear his voice, and I see I'm standing before the cell bars, looking into the darkness. "You say that you're going to get stronger to protect that woman, and yet you refuse my power, why?"

"I want to protect her with my own strength, not the strength of some demon…" I tell him.

I see a smirk appear on the human shaped shadow behind the bars, the Sharingan staring at me.

"If you really desired power, you would accept me completely." It tells me. "If you did that, you would become strong enough to do whatever you please, that Jounin would've meant little more then kindling to you."

I shake my head.

"If you're so great, then why are you stuck inside me, why can't you just break out?" I ask sarcastically.

My words strike a nerve.

"That bastard brother of mine, he's the one who put me here, and I swear if I ever see him, I'm going to make him pay for this insult!"

The chakra around him flares, and I can see he's angry, and yet somehow he remains in complete control…

"Did I strike a nerve?" I ask.

The eyes continue to glare at me, but this time, I can feel the malice behind them, the desire to kill…

"If it weren't for this seal, I would've killed you and taken your body for my own ages ago." He tells me.

_So, he is just some possessing spirit…_

I see him look up to the ceiling.

"Well, isn't this ironic?" He asks in sarcasm, and I give him a sideways look.

"What are you talking about, what's ironic?"

I see a white, toothy grin appear on his face.

"You mean you can't feel that?" He asks. "That chakra that's swirling around near your body?" He continues. "You friends are probably fighting to protect you, even now someone is threatening your unconscious body, and they're fighting to keep you alive."

"How can you know that?" I demand. "You're inside of me, so how can you feel what's outside?"

He grins.

"I can feel everything you can, and my senses are much sharper then yours are, I know what's going on outside, and judging from the amount of chakra that's swirling around, I'd say your teammates are in over there heads."

"That isn't true!" I shout at him. "That can't be possible, both of them are strong, there's no way they'd lose in this exam!"

He keeps grinning.

"And what about that blue haired girl earlier, she was looking for you, and you're going to tell me you think she's weak?"

My mind shifts back to the girl wearing the large bottle on her back, and I remember seeing her waiting to put her paperwork in at the start of the second phase of the exam…

"If I'm awake, then I want to wake up, I need to move my body, now!"

He chuckles.

"You wasted nearly all your chakra with that punch, and now you expect your body to move when your spirit and physical strength are both so depleted?" He asks.

I avoid his gaze, looking away in shame.

_Much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Chakra is comprised of a mixture of spiritual and physical energy, and I've exhausted my body's supply of both of those with that jutsu, so in order to get up, I need more…_

"Now you understand…" Echoes his voice from behind the bars.

I see a black smoke begin to billow out from behind the bars, more a haze then a smoke, and when it enters my nostrils, it feels intoxicating…

"Just breathe it all in." He tells me. "Take in my chakra, and feel its power…"

My eyes pop open. I feel the grass beneath my body, and I see the tree shading me from the sun. I can feel the blood pumping in my veins, and I can feel the chakra flowing through me. I get up, and I look to my right, seeing Himeko and Chisato with their backs toward me, and beyond them, I see three ninja dressed in dark blue robes, wearing the headband of the Waterfall Village, the only thing exposed on them is their eyes…

_2 men and a woman, how quaint…_

Himeko and Chisato stand at a stand off with them, and I can see that both sides appear to be slightly winded, as if they've already skirmished, and are waiting on one side to make a move to start the second round…

"What the hell is that?" The female Waterfall ninja asks, glaring at me as I stand there.

Both Himeko and Chisato turn around, and I can read the feeling of dread they have in their stomachs, and Chisato has an expression of fear, and Himeko bears one of remembrance…

"Oh no…" I hear Chisato mutter.

I continue to glare toward the three enemy shinobi.

"Chisato, Himeko, are you both uninjured?" I ask in a cold, emotionless voice.

I see the Hyuga girl's eyes go wide, and Chisato glares at me, a kunai held in front of her, a confrontational expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" I ask my voice still cold. "Did those ninja hurt you?"

Chisato continues to glare, and Himeko drops her kunai, the knife landing on the ground with a light clank.

"I'm not worried about them, not anymore." Chisato tells me, ready to attack me; Himeko betrays a different emotion…

"Just stay there." I tell the two of them.

I move with my full speed, disappearing in a flash, moving so fast that without my Sharingan I'd be dealing with tunnel vision.

I strike with surprising accuracy, my pointer and middle fingers extended, landing right on a pressure point on the neck. I focus a small amount of chakra through the points in my fingers, and I fire it, using it to temporarily disrupt the flow of signals from the brain to the rest of the body…

The female ninja jerks, and then her body falls to the ground, her limbs no longer responding to the orders her brain issues to them…

"There!" The others shout, one making hand signs, while the other throws a barrage of kunai…

_Too slow…_

I simply dodge, using my speed to move around and behind the ninja who threw the kunai, and I land a hard chop to the side of his neck, nearly snapping his neck with the blow as I throw him aside…

I stand there, where the second ninja used to stand, not three feet away from the last remaining standing shinobi…

His hands are stuck in the form of a hand sign, and he seems to be frozen in that stance, his legs spread, and his hands in front of him. I slowly turn toward him, and I can see the fear in his eyes.

"Boggles your mind, doesn't it?" I ask, knowing what he'll say in response.

"What?" He manages to nearly yelp, fear paralyzing his body.

"How someone like me, whose talent far exceeds that of any genin, managed to sneak my way into this exam?" I ask, knowing what buttons to push. "You're thinking that I can't possibly be a genin, and that it was a foolish decision to come after me."

I see the statement hits home, and I can read his body language, and I know what I'm saying is reflected in his mind…

"Can…can you read my mind?" He asks, fear filling his voice.

His body quivers, his nerve is gone, he's already broken, he just doesn't know it…

"Yes, I can read your mind, and I can see your future as well."

He shudders.

"I'll give you the scroll! Just let me go!" The ninja pleads.

I feel a grin on my face.

"What makes you think I care about that stupid scroll?" I ask.

His eyes go wide.

"You can't be serious!" He tells me.

"Yes, and I can assure you, coming after me is going to be your LAST MISTAKE!"

I see him turn and run, and he runs with all his speed, the only desire in his mind right now is to get away…

_He doesn't care, he's only concerned about his own life now, and he couldn't care less about his teammates…_

I use my speed again, this time I move around in a half circle, appearing directly in front of him, and he stops in his tracks, his eyes going wide as he fails his arms, as if pushing the air will somehow help to make him move in the opposite direction…

He doesn't get the chance to try and backpedal, my right hand grabbing him by his face, and I move forward, driving his head down as the rest of his body plays catch up, and I send the back of his head into the ground hard, hard enough to knock him unconscious, and probably give him a concussion…

True enough, he's out like light, and I kneel over him, glaring at him.

"You dare to threaten me, you're pathetic." Comes my voice, but the demon speaks the words.

I stand up, and I survey the small area, and the results of my actions, and I feel…

_Satisfaction…_

The feeling of satisfaction comes over me in a wave, and I nearly take pride in the damage that I've done, in nearly killing these three shinobi, and the thought of murdering them, and exactly HOW to kill them, fills my mind…

I hear the sound of something cutting through the air, and I turn to see three kunai knives flying toward me, and I shift my head, dodging the three knives with ease, and I look back at the person who threw them…

_Chisato…_

The girl stands there, holding a fourth knife in her hand, and I can tell she's the one who threw them, Himeko stands behind her, huddled in fear as Chisato stands in front of her, a familiar expression in her eyes…

_Those eyes, that look, it's the same…_

"No!" I yell out suddenly, my voice filled with emotion, and I close my eyes, grasping the sides of my head with my hands. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" I yell at the thing in my mind.

"Tsuzaku, is that you again?" I hear Chisato's voice.

"You think you can accept my chakra and use it to do your dirty work, and then deny me what's rightfully mine?" The voice booms in my mind. "I will have their lives, you cannot stop me!"

I shake my head and my body shakes, and I groan in agony, fighting against the voice in my head that's ordering me to kill these people, and against my own limbs for listening to him…

"No…" I mutter weakly. "I won't let you do this to me…"

"You don't have a choice." I hear the demon's voice. "My chakra has filled your body, and with my chakra, I will take their lives!"

I fight against the demon, groaning as I press against my head, trying to force it back…

"Go away, go away, GO AWAY!" I scream out loud. "You aren't me, and I WON'T LET YOU CONTROL ME!"

With all my willpower, I slam my forehead into the ground, and the metal plate on my headband goes back into my forehead, and the pain focuses my concentration, and steels me resolve.

I continue slamming my head into the ground, yelling in both pain and frustration. After I hit my head the eighth time, I feel the presence is gone, and I have my forehead against the ground, the headband separating my forehead from the dirt…

_He's finally gone…_

I was kneeling, my knees against the ground, but now my legs extend and I lay there, content in my victory…

_He's gone, he didn't win…_

I feel incredibly weak, my body feels ragged, but my mind is sharp.

"Tsuzaku, are you all right?" I hear Chisato's voice, and I look up to see her standing six feet away, looking down at me closely.

I nod.

_Can't blame her for standing so far away though…_

"Yeah, I'm fine." I respond, and then I see Himeko emerge from behind her.

"Himeko…" I mutter, feeling a sudden guilt as the Hyuga girl looks at me.

The emotion is betrayed in my voice, and I avoid her gaze.

"Tsuzaku, how do you feel?" She asks. "Can you move?"

I shake my head.

"I don't think I could sit up right now if I wanted to, so I don't think moving is an option, unless one of you is a lot stronger then I think you are."

Chisato shakes her head.

"No, I was just making sure, if you're that laid up, I don't want to risk moving you until you do feel better, I don't want you relapsing."

_Relapsing? That's a good word for what I did, face it, you gave in to that thing inside of you, and he nearly killed those three ninja because of it…_

"Although, we do need to move these three before they wake up, because once they do, I'm sure they'll try and come after us again."

I nod, and I manage to move to a sitting position.

"Yeah, I agree, you two should get them out of here; I don't know how long they'll be out."

She nods, and then looks at me cautiously.

"You sure you're going to be all right, that thing isn't going to get back out, is it?"

I shake my head, reaching into my pouch and withdrawing an exploding tag.

"I'll use this if I feel him starting to come back out, but I don't think he will."

Himeko looks down at the tool, and I can feel a sudden coldness from her, she no longer wears the warm smile she used to show me, and I don't say anything as Chisato picks up two of the Waterfall ninja, and Himeko shoulders the third.

"We'll be right back, so don't move."

I nod, sitting here hunched over slightly, holding the exploding tag in my right hand.

The two of them take to the trees, and I watch them disappear into the foliage, and I look down at the tag, knowing that all I have to do is use a tiny bit of chakra to ignite the weapon, and blow my body to bits…

_Maybe I shouldn't wait until that thing comes back; maybe I should just use this anyway, and kill myself now rather then wait until that thing tries to come out. If I use it now, then at least Himeko and Chisato aren't around, so they won't be involved in the explosion…_

I stare down at the tag, contemplating my own demise, and I don't know how long I just space out, staring down at the explosive in my right hand, just waiting to be used…

"Tsuzaku?" I hear Himeko's voice.

I look in the direction of the noise, and I see Himeko emerge from the bushes, and she approaches me, spotting me easily, and I see a smile appear on her face…

"Hold it!" I yell, pointing the tag at her. "Himeko, show me your Byakugan."

"My Byakugan, why would you want me to use that, Tsuzaku?" She asks.

She takes another step, and I recoil my arm, preparing to throw the tag.

"Take one more step without your Byakugan on, and I'll blow you to pieces!" I tell her.

She stops in her tracks, and looks at me with a confused look.

"Why are you acting like this, we're teammates, we're on the same side." She looks at me with a hurt expression on her face.

_I don't know who the hell you are, but you aren't Himeko!_

She takes another step, and I throw the tag, lighting the fuse as I throw it toward her, and she jumps back as the tag hits the ground and explodes, kicking up smoke and a cloud of dust…

_If I'd used my Sharingan, I could've seen through that earlier without that ninja even noticing it, and I would've killed him with that shot…_

I try to get up, but my knees give, and I fall on my left side, landing with a thud as my ribs hit the ground.

"Ow, damnit…" I mutter.

I hear footsteps, and I turn to see a female figure emerge through the bushes, standing there wearing a cloud village headband. She wears a simple purple t shirt and a mini skirt, with fishnets on her legs, and a blue sandals like so many other ninja wear. She has a tool pouch at her hip, and her long red hair is tied back into a pony tail, her green eyes like emeralds…

"So, you saw through my disguise huh?" She asks. "Not bad for a pathetic leaf village wimp." She says.

_This woman, she must've just showed up, because she couldn't have seen me do what I did earlier and still maintain thoughts of doing this…_

"Who are you, and what do you want?" I ask.

She stands over me, her confidence seemingly coming off of her in waves.

"My name doesn't matter, and what I want is simple, I want your scroll."

I snort.

"Well, guess what lady? I don't have it." I tell her.

She gains a look of annoyance.

"Is that so?" She asks, staring at me.

I nod.

"What makes you think my teammates would be dumb enough to leave our only ticket through this exam with a member of the team who's barely able to move?"

She nods.

"I understand." She says. "I'm just wondering whether or not those two tramps would bother trading your life for the scroll?"

I shake my head, snorting again.

"You're better off killing me." I tell her. "I doubt those two will trade anything for me, neither of them cares about me."

"Aw, cry me a river." She responds, pulling a knife from her pouch.

As she raises the knife up over her head, I close my eyes.

_Please, at least aim for my head, don't make me suffer…_

I hear the sound of something hitting the ground, and I open my eyes to see a dome has partially risen from past my feet and over my body in a shell, with the sides open, and I can see the tip of a kunai poking through the shell.

"A mud wall, but I didn't see him make any hand signs?" The cloud kunoichi asks.

"It's because he didn't." I hear Chisato's voice.

The wall disintegrates, and I look to see Chisato standing there, and I know that it's the real thing…

_No one but she and I know that I taught her that technique, but how was she able to use it with such a distance between us?_

She stands just in front of the bushes, and her arms are crossed, a cocky expression on her face.

"So, you're back already?" She asks. "Where's your friend?"

Chisato smirks.

"Behind you." She responds simply.

There's a puff of smoke, and Himeko stands behind the cloud ninja, holding a kunai knife pressed to her throat, her left hand taking hold of one of the ninja's hands.

"Move and you're dead." Himeko tells the kunoichi.

For a moment, there's silence as I look at the scene playing out before me.

"So, you both came back for this worthless excuse for a Shinobi?" The cloud ninja asks.

Chisato smirks.

"We can't complete this exam unless we're in a three man squad, and we can't change our squad mid exam, so what do you think?" She asks. "We're just going to stand by and watch as you murder our comrade?"

I look down, away from them in shame.

_I don't know if they mean that or not, but I'm not their comrade, I'm nothing more then a bomb, waiting to explode…_

"I don't know, I saw what this person did in that last fight against those waterfall ninja, and I saw what he did to those guys, and I can only say this, your supposed 'comrade' is a terrible monster, and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him."

I see the kunai Himeko holds press against the ninja's neck, and I can tell she's becoming aggravated.

"I think you should shut your mouth." She tells the girl, a cold edge to her voice.

I look away from the scene, a feeling of guilt welling up in my gut, knowing that I'm responsible for what's happening, and I'm unable to do anything about it…

_I was barely able to come back to being myself, I don't know what could happen if I try to fight in this condition…_

"Himeko, think we should tie her up?" Chisato asks.

I don't see Himeko nod.

"Yes, I think we should, and once she's bound, we'll interrogate her and find out what she knows, maybe hold her hostage for her team's scroll."

The kunoichi mutters something.

"Sorry, but I don't think that'll be possible."

I watch as the girl vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving the three of us alone, and I realize that the girl managed to make an escape, even under Himeko's eyes…

"Looks like that witch escaped." Chisato comments; and I watch as Himeko sheaths the kunai, and then turns around, looking at me.

"You all right, Tsuzaku?" She asks. "That girl didn't hurt you, did she?"

I shake my head.

"No, and I think that you should both just leave me here and let me die." I tell them. "I've caused you both nothing but problems, and even though it means failing the exam, it's more important that I die, rather then keep living and run the risk of the thing inside me hurting people."

Himeko shakes her head, and I see her smile, and it seems to cut through the depression I feel.

"We're not going to let you die." She says. "I know you're stronger then that thing, and why would we go and fail the exam, when we've already passed?" She asks with a grin.

I raise my eyebrows, and I see Chisato reach into her pockets, and she withdraws and black and a white scroll.

"That team of Waterfall ninja that you took down happened to have the scroll we need, so all we have to do now is go to the tower in the center of the grounds, and wait for the end of the exam."

_Damn, we're already ready to go, but I'm in no condition to move…_

"How long has it been since we started the exam?" I ask. "How long was I unconscious?"

"It's only been a day." She explains. "Although, you don't look like you should be moved now, tomorrow we'll head to the goal." Chisato explains. "Until then, Himeko and I will take watch and make sure you're all right while you sleep."

I feel sleep come easily enough, knowing that the two girls will be standing watch over me during the night…

I awake the next morning to see Chisato sitting there, holding a kunai and looking off into the forest as I lay in the small alcove created by the large tree root. I can't see Himeko anywhere, and I groan groggily as I sit up, rubbing my eyes.

"Morning, sunshine." Chisato shoots at me, and I nod.

"Good morning, where's Himeko?"

"She went out to get some food, probably just some berries or something like that."

I nod.

"Listen, Chisato, about what happened yesterday…"

"Forget about it." She says without even looking at me. "All that matters is you're all right, and that we've got everything we need."

_She let that drop surprisingly easy…_

"I wanted to apologize, to both you." I tell her, continuing with my train of thought. "I was weak, and because of that, you two were in danger, and I could've hurt you both."

She shrugs.

"You didn't, that's all that matters; so don't think about it." She tells me again. "We've got more important matters, like passing this exam."

_Well at least she isn't bitter, and she trusts me sort of, I don't know what to think about this girl. Until recently, my opinion of her was that she is an arrogant, self centered jerk that doesn't care about anyone or anything other then herself. Now though, it seems as though she's developing a bond to Himeko, and that's causing small changes to take place…_

She looks over her shoulder at me and I see her gain a strange expression.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" She asks. "It creeps me out, so please stop."

I nod, giving a light hearted smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

There's a silence, and I open my mouth to speak, but her head spins around, and looks into the trees, giving me a hand signal to not speak…

_Someone's coming…_

I quietly pull a knife from my pouch, and I sit there, my ears honed, listening for any signs of multiple attackers, any noise, the snap of a twig, the bend of a branch, the rustle of leaves…

I hear something hit the root over me, and then I see a figure emerge in front of me, hopping down from the root to the ground…

_It's only Himeko…_

Both Chisato and I relax as we see the girl return, and I can tell that it is no decoy or a double. She holds an armful of berries in front of her, and she stands there, a smile on her face.

"I see you're awake, Tsuzaku." She says a happy hint to her tone.

I nod.

"Yes, I'm awake and I feel fine, and once we eat, I'd like to head to the tower and finish this stage of exam."

Chisato lays out a small cloth, and Himeko places the berries on it, and I look them over carefully.

"You're sure it's okay to eat all of these?"

She nods.

"I did well during the wilderness survival part of our teachings at the academy." She explains. "We were even tested on the local berries that were edible and which weren't, and I'm the only student who aced the test."

I nod again, picking up a berry.

"Well, if I get sick and die, I'll come back and haunt you." I tell her sarcastically.

The three of us start eating, and after fifteen minutes, we finish eating, and then the three of us stand up, the sun starting to come out in the sky.

"Well, we need to head to the center of the training ground in order to get to the tower, so we need to head that way." Chisato says, pointing to her left, toward the center of the forest.

I nod, and so does Himeko.

"We'll have to be careful, if we get caught by another team of ninja as we make our way toward the tower, they'll try to take the scroll they need, and leave us back where we started."

There's an unspoken agreement between the three of us, and we take off into the trees, leaping from branch to branch, all of us scanning the area, making sure no one is tracking us, though I'm sure that someone is…

_This whole time, I bet we're being spied on by the Proctor or some of her lackeys. I'd guarantee that they're watching us and gauging how fast we complete this stage of the test…_

Chisato makes a sign for the two of us to stop, and we do so, landing on a branch and coming to stop as she does so as well. She points her finger below us, and I look to see two Genin concealed in bushes, unaware of our approach, lying in wait for a group of genin to approach with the scroll they need…

_We're so close to the tower, it's no wonder someone got the idea to just lie in wait and find what they need as it comes to us. Well, I don't know if going through them or not is a good idea, especially with our condition being what it is, and they're probably still fresh from when we started the test, taking turns keeping watch over night…_

Chisato makes hand signals, and from her motions, I can tell she wants to go around them, and I agree with her decision, giving her nod as she looks back at Himeko and I. I look to Himeko and I see her nod her agreement, and then I look back to Chisato, and the three of us move as a unit, taking off from the tree branches and moving right, sticking to the shadows and moving stealthily. We make our way around, and I see Chisato go for the ground, and I follow, leaping down toward the ground as Himeko follows suit.

As the last of us hit the ground, Chisato takes off at a mad dash, shooting for the tower door, knowing that if we can just get inside, we'll be safe, and the test will be over…

I hear more then see movement to my right, and I look to see a kunai fly from the bushes toward her. She notices, and I see her leap forward, using her chakra to temporarily give her a burst of speed and she goes through the door as the knife passes millimeters behind her, so close that it shaves some of her long hair. I watch and move as Chisato goes into a roll, and both Himeko and I leap through the doorway, Chisato closing the door behind us, ending the second stage of the exam…

The three of us stand there in silence, and I feel relief washing over me like a spring rain shower that washes the dry winter grass. We stand there, and I breathe lightly, feeling the adrenaline beginning to thin out in my body, and I look at Chisato, seeing her hair is now uneven, part of it cut short to near shoulder length, and the rest of it hanging down to its normal mid back length…

"You two all right?" She finally asks after a few minutes of silence, I nod, and I see Himeko do so as well.

"We're fine, you're the one who had a knife thrown at you, and it looks like they barely missed you."

She nods, taking her hair in hand and looking at it.

"My hair…" She mutters in mourning.

_I can understand, she likes having her hair long, and now it's been forcibly cut short. I'd be sad too…_

"I know this isn't the kind of thing you want to hear Chisato, but I could cut the rest of your hair shorter and make it at least even for you, if you want." Himeko volunteers and I see the thought enter her head.

"I suppose I should cut the rest of it now, there's no point in leaving it like this, and it only looks horrible when its two separate lengths like this."

I look around and take in my surroundings, seeing that we're standing in the middle of a large auditorium like room, and at the rear, there is a sign posted against the wall, near the top of the 20 foot high walls…

"If qualities of Earth are what you lack, sharpen your mind and body, prepare to attack, if qualities of heaven aren't you, then open your mind, and see the whole you…" I mutter, reading the sign.

"What do you suppose it means?" Chisato asks as Himeko goes to work on her hair.

I shrug.

"Maybe it's got something to do with those heaven and earth scrolls we were told to find." I say. "Maybe we have to open them."

Chisato shakes her head.

"When we were given our scroll, we were told not to open it during it the test, do you really think that's wise now, when we're almost finished?"

I shake my head.

"Technically we've passed this stage." I tell her. "We made it here with both scrolls, so why not open them and see what's to see?"

She sighs as she goes into her robes and withdraws the two scrolls, staring at them.

"I can't believe I'm about to listen to you."

As Himeko finishes with her hair, Chisato opens and unfurls both scrolls, resulting in a puff of smoke…

The three of us cough as we realize we set off some sort of trap or something, and as the smoke clears, Ishikawa stands there, as if summoned to that point by the scrolls.

"Sensei, is that you?" Himeko asks.

He nods.

"It is, and because I'm here, that means you all pass this second stage of the exam."

There's a silence, and then I open my mouth.

"I thought that if we open the scrolls, we were immediately disqualified?"

He nods.

"That's true, but since you made it here to the tower, and you have both scrolls, you were supposed to open them here." He explains. "These scrolls contain a summon jutsu that calls a certain person based on whoever it is that opens it. In your case, it called me to explain this all to you."

I nod.

"All right, but if I remember right, the rules say we had days to complete the exam, what do we do until the test ends?"

He grins.

"There are small bedrooms here for just that emergency." He explains.

"What about this sign?" Himeko asks. "What does it mean?"

His grin shifts, becoming calm and collected; he looks up at the sign.

"Those are the words of the third Hokage." He explains. "It's a message to all young ninja, its encouragement to improve." He explains. "The earth qualities he talks about refer to your physical skill, saying that if you lack that ability, you need only train to improve it." He pauses. "The heavenly qualities refer to your intelligence, and in order to improve that, all you have to do is open your mind to see every part of yourself, and you'll realize you need to study, and because of that, you will become smarter."

I sigh.

"Either way, we all need to rest, the exam ends tomorrow, and so if you don't mind do you think you could show us to our rooms, Ishikawa-sensei?" Chisato asks.

He nods.

"Sure, follow me."

He leads us out of the auditorium and up several floors, and then leads us into a hallway lined with doors on both sides.

"This is the dormitory level." He explains. "You can get some sleep here, and each room has a shower, so feel free to freshen up."

We all nod, and I know that I don't exactly smell nice since we were working in the forest, and we all go to a separate door. I open the door to the room and I see it's empty and Unitarian, only a bed and a doorway which probably leads to the bathroom…

As Himeko and Chisato enter their rooms, I feel Ishikawa's presence behind me, and I turn around to see him standing there.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Tsuzaku?" He asks.

I nod.

"Sure." I say, walking into the room, and he follows, closing the door.

"I want to ask you about the time you spent in the forest; did you have an episode where the demon inside you managed to get out?"

I nod.

"He did, because I was weak, he managed to break free." I explain. "He nearly killed three waterfall genin, and probably would've done the same to Chisato and Himeko if I hadn't regained control."

"Hmmm…." He mutters, a sigh escaping his lips. "If they hold a preliminary tournament now, I don't know…" He mutters.

I raise my eyebrows.

"What do you mean preliminary tournament?" I ask. "We just got here; don't tell me that there are other teams that have already arrived?"

He shakes his head.

"Only one other team has managed to make it here, a team of Genin from the Hidden Mist village, led by a girl in blue." He explains. "As it stands right now, there are only six Genin who have passed this stage of the exams."

"So, what do you mean if they hold a preliminary?"

"If any more then 18 Genin manage to pass this stage of the exam, then they'll most likely hold a preliminary match in order to cut down your numbers."

"You mean, the exam isn't over?" I demand from him.

He shakes his head.

"I can't tell you anymore, you'll learn soon enough." He says. "Make sure you take it easy, and try to get a shower in."

I nod as he leaves the room, leaving me to my thoughts…

_I don't believe this crap…_

We stand in the main arena of the tower, the large hand shaped statue in front of us, with 4 Jounin standing on the arena, and the female proctor for the exam standing in front of them, between them and us. The Sixth Hokage stands behind her and to her left.

"You twelve are the only survivors of the second stage of this Chunin exam." The proctor says. "If you were lucky, you would've failed out of this exam already, but you've proven you're persistent, and your persistence has gotten you here." She begins.

I look around, and I see the Hidden Mist team that's being led by that girl on the opposite side of the room. Chisato stands at the front of us, the genin lined up in lines of three according to squad, and Himeko stands behind her, and I'm in the rear. All of the genin stand at attention and the proctor resumes speaking.

"Lord Hokage, do you have any words for these children?" She asks.

The Hokage clears his throat, and then steps forward.

"All of you have passed the second stage of this Chunin exam…" He pauses, falling deadly quiet. "However, your trials in this exam are far from over." He continues. "For the true Chunin exam is about to begin."

One of the members of the other squads speaks up.

"What do you mean, that everything we've done up until now is meaningless?"

The Sixth shakes his head.

"No, I don't mean that." He explains. "You can look at the first two stages of this exam as sort of preliminary exam." He continues. "The purpose of the first two stages is to weed out the weak genin, and leave only the best for the last stage."

"And just what is the last stage?" The genin asks.

"It's a tournament, held in an open air battle arena, exactly one month from now."

A silence befalls all the genin present, and I raise my hand.

"Yes, what is it?" The Hokage asks.

"You say it's a tournament, does that mean that only the winner of the next stage will be able to become a Chunin, and all the others are just SOL?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"The next stage of the exam will be held before me and the other ninja leaders, as well as the various feudal lords and businessmen who will be giving you missions." He explains. "As you compete in the battles, you'll be judged on whether or not you're worthy of becoming a Chunin." He continues. "That means that none of you may become Chunin, and it also means that all of you may become Chunin as well." He continues.

"So, what makes this different from just having a tournament now?" I ask. "Why not just randomly assign opponents and let us fight it out now?"

He smiles.

"We have to send out invitations and make sure everyone is represented, also, randomly making your opponent isn't what we do for the last exam."

Chie Yuzuki, the second exam proctor steps forward, holding a small box with a hole in the top of the box.

"Each of you will take a number and display it, and that number will determine who you will fight."

I nod as the proctor steps forward.

"Stay where you are, I'll come to you."

The woman approaches us slowly, and goes to each of us one at a time. She holds out the box for each Genin to take a number from it. She comes to me, and I pull a ball from it, and then I look at the number…

_So, my number is four, I guess that means that I'm in the second match…_

After she hands out all the numbers, she stands in front of us all and then sets the box down, withdrawing a clipboard from within her robes, and she puts a pen to it.

"Okay, now from you on my right on down, read your number to me."

I wait as the other Genin read off their numbers, and I don't hear three before it comes to me.

"Four." I say in turn.

Others continue speaking, and then it comes to the girl in blue that challenged me before we turned in our paperwork…

"Three." She says simply, and I can see her eyes locked on me.

_Well, she looks awfully happy to be facing me…_

As she finishes with all of us, she turns the clipboard around, and shows everything the tournament standings…

_Well, I guess that's how it's supposed to work, looks like Chisato is facing a girl named Aya, and Himeko has a guy named Kazuhiko…_

I read my opponents name, and I can't help but think it can't be right…

_Her name is Mizu, just Mizu? She doesn't have a last name or anything?_

"Well then, the tournament standings have been established, and exactly one month from today, on the 3rd of February, the final stage of this Chunin exam will begin." The Hokage proclaims.

With that, the proctor speaks up.

"You're all dismissed until then, you'll be given directions to the third stage arena as you leave, and you'll be expected to report there by 8 am on the 3rd of February." She tells us. "Anyone who fails to appear at that time is immediately disqualified."

We all nod, and the proctor turns.

"You're all dismissed; your Jounin will have the directions you need, as well as any other pertinent information."

With that, the second stage proctor walks away behind the Sixth Hokage, and the four remaining Jounin step forward, approaching their individual squads.

"You three have done well." Ishikawa tells us as he approaches Chisato. "Follow me; we shouldn't be here much longer." He says.

The three of us do as we're told, and he leads us out of the tower and through a tunnel that leads through the forest and back outside. As the three of us leave the tunnel and stand outside the training zone, he faces us, and then reaches into his vest, withdrawing three pieces of paper.

"This sheet has the location of the arena for the third stage of the exam on it." He says, handing a slip to each of us. "It's your responsibility to make it there that day, if you're late, I'm not going to try and keep you in this, understand?"

We all nod.

"Now, for the next month, you're free to do whatever you want, I suggest all three of train and improve yourselves." He explains. "You know who you're facing, and your opponents know who you are as well." He continues. "They each have an information card with your basic information on it, and any notes of interest about you will be on them."

"So, when are you going to give us the information on our opponents?" Chisato asks.

"Flip those papers over." He says.

We all do so, and on the back, I see a headshot of the girl I'm supposed to fight, her ninja ID number, home village, and her ninja stats…

"There's something wrong with mine." I say simply. "The ability graph on mine is blank, and it says that this girl has been through 3 A rank missions and 5 B ranks."

Ishikawa nods.

"There's nothing wrong with your card, Tsuzaku." He says. "You got the unlucky draw of the three of you." He continues. "That girl's skills and abilities are practically unknown." He elaborates. "The Village Hidden in the Mist hasn't released any information on her at all; everything seems to be considered secret."

"Doesn't that violate the treaty?" I ask. "Not sharing information should qualify as a violation of the Alliance Treaty?"

He shakes his head.

"The only information required by the treaty is shown, the breakdown of the missions she's been on, the ninja ID number, and the day of birth." He explains. "Other then that, it's considered a show of good faith to share the rest of the information, but it isn't required."

"So basically, you're telling me I'm flying blind?"

He nods.

"Essentially, you're going in with almost no knowledge of your opponent, you have no idea what type of jutsu she uses and you know nothing about her strategy." He explains. "In a sense, you're getting the best test of your abilities."

"So, how do I win then?" I ask.

He gains a serious look.

"Spend this next month learning to control that demon inside of you." He tells me.

_Easier said then done…_

"If you can master at least one of the two jutsu that Himeko and Chisato have told me about, you'll have no problem getting through this exam."

"Great…" I mutter, looking down at my right hand, and clenching my fist.

_So, in order to beat this girl and maybe become a Chunin, I have to learn to control that monster inside me, that's a tall order, especially considering I haven't had any luck trying to bring him under my control so far…_

"Now, I don't know if I can even do anything to help you control that chakra and those jutsu that he uses, but I do believe I can show you something."

"What?" I ask my teacher.

"Follow me." He says. "Chisato, Himeko, if you want to come along, you can as well."

The three of us follow our teacher to a training ground surrounded by trees, and he turns around, withdrawing a scroll from his vest, and unfurling it and showing it to me.

"This is a summoning contract for ninja dogs." He says. "If you sign this Tsuzaku, you'll be able to summon a dog to assist you in battle, or in any other situation." He explains. "The more chakra you put into the summoning, the more dogs you'll call, and the larger the pack."

I nod, withdrawing a kunai from my pouch.

"I know about summoning contracts, where should I sign?" I ask.

He grins.

"Right on the line, you can see the next open space."

I don't look at the other names on the contract as I poke my right thumb with the knife and use it to sign my name on the paper in blood, and then I put some blood on each of my fingers on my right hand, and I press it against the contract, sealing the deal.

"Good then." He says. "You should summon the dogs during the next month to get a feel for them." He says. "Here are the hand signs."

I call the Sharingan, and he shows me the hand signs slowly, and my kekkei genkai memorizes them, and I recognize them, committing them to my own memory.

"Got it." I respond, my eyes changing back.

"Now, what will you do about learning to master that black chakra?"

I turn around, looking at both Himeko and Chisato, and then I look back at Ishikawa.

"I think I'll leave the village for the next month." I say simply. "I'll travel for a few hours and find a nice unsoiled spot of wilderness and I'll train there, that way no one will be in danger if I lose control." I explain.

He raises his eyebrows.

"You sure you're going to get back in time if you do that?"

I nod.

"Well." He says, shrugging. "Just make sure you get some rest before you come to the arena, you're no good to anyone if you're exhausted during your match."

I nod again.

"Thank you, sensei." I say simply, and I turn around, facing Himeko.

"I'll be back, I swear it." I tell her, and Chisato just nods.

"Make sure you come back stronger, because I'm gonna improve too, and I'm not gonna lose so that I can fight you in the second round."

I grin.

"I'll make sure of it."

With that, I shake Ishikawa's hand, and I leave the village…

Before I leave, I stop by my home first, grabbing some essential supplies, and I make sure that sensei tells the authorities what I'm doing, and not to worry. After I pack, I leave for the wilderness, passing through the main gates; I set off for the wild, no particular destination in mind, an all consuming goal in front of me…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The Final Stage…

A single month passes, and on the 3rd day of February, I return to the village, the sun rising in the sky, a few hours until the exam starts…

The month has changed me, both mentally and physically. My body hasn't grown, but I'm wearing different clothes then before I left, having burned those garments during my training to master one of the jutsu.

Instead of shorts, I wear long black pants, with a sleeveless dark purple shirt having replaced my black t shirt. My headband still rests on my forehead, and my shoes are still the same. However, my right arm is covered in medical tape from my upper bicep down to the tips of my fingers. My left arm is unchanged, though the muscles are more defined. I've discarded the fishnets I wore before, and wear now wear magenta colored leg warmers on my calves. My hair remains the same, having cut it just yesterday, knowing the exam is today.

My ninja pack rests against my right calf, a summoning scroll in addition to kunai and shuriken packed in there. I have a dark blue backpack on my back that's mostly empty, only a few minor items reside, most having been used during my one month away from home.

As I walk through the front gate, the guard there notices me, and notices who I am, and he nods, letting me by without a word. I hold the direction card given to me by Ishikawa exactly one month ago in my left hand, and I look at it, making sure I make the correct turns, and I walk through the village.

In the early morning hours, hardly anyone is out on the main street of the village. As I walk, I see shopkeepers preparing to open their stands, and people just out, enjoying the dawn light…

_Village will be bustling soon, what with the exams being today and all, I imagine quite a crowd will be drawn to the arena…_

The thought of performing before the crowd makes me uneasy, looking down at my right hand, I clench my tape wrapped fist, and I shake my head, clearing the thoughts of hesitation and uneasiness from my mind.

_It's possible I won't even have to use that jutsu; I might have improved enough on my own skills that I'll be able to take her down without using it…_

I find myself standing before the Arena in the rising sun's light, and I walk inside, seeing that the doors are open. I move through the empty stands, and I walk out onto the field, looking around the coliseum like arena, and I take it all in, getting a lay of the land, learning where the cover is, and how the sun shines in the arena…

"Getting a lay for the land?" I hear a friendly voice behind me.

I turn around to see the Sixth approach slowly, a grin on his middle aged face.

"Lord Hokage…" I trail, and he shakes his head.

"You don't have to be so uptight." He tells me. "I can see that you're actually nervous about this exam, aren't you?" He asks.

I nod, admitting the truth.

"I am sort of nervous, I don't know if I'm really cut out for this, fighting in front of all these people with someone I hardly even know, and I don't even know if I'm worthy of being a Chunin or not."

He shakes his head.

"You won't know until you try." He says simply. "Your squad has all made it in, and at least you aren't fighting one of them immediately." He tells me. "You've been gone an entire month, and I can tell that you've grown much stronger in that short amount of time, and I know that you'll give a spectacular fight." He encourages me.

Under normal circumstances, I'd be happy that the village leader is giving me this encouragement, but a sinking feeling remains in my stomach.

"What if I can't win, what if she's too strong?" I ask.

He scoffs.

"Win or lose your chances of becoming a Chunin don't change." He says. "And besides, there will be a proctor on hand, watching the match." He explains. "If things get too bad, he'll stop the match and declare a winner; rather then let you kill each other."

I nod.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage." I thank him, and he smiles.

"Forget about it." He says, making a V for Victory. "Just give a great fight, and I'm sure everything will turn out great."

Even though the Hokage believes that, and I can sense the truth to his words, a feeling of dread continues to linger in the back of my mind, as though I just know that something bad is going to happen during this stage of the exam, and I don't know exactly what it is, or how to stop it…

The next thing I know, I'm standing alongside the other 11 Genin who made it this far in the exam, and we're all standing in the middle of the arena, before a cheering crowd…

A proctor stands in front of us, different from the other two. This one is a young man in his late twenties, with a bandana around his head, and dressed in a black Jounin uniform. His dark eyes seem like a void, and his headband is part of the bandana. He stands taller then we are, easily 6 feet tall, and has a smug air about him.

"My name is Kuro, and I'm going to be the proctor for this stage of this exam." He explains to all of us. "The rules are simple, anything goes, it's only over when one fighter is either unable to compete, submits, or dies." He explains. "That said, I will intervene and call matches if it becomes clear that it is indeed over to try and save lives." He pauses. "Any questions before we get started?"

There's silence from the Genin, and the roar of the filled stadium tells the proctor that the crowd is ready for the action to begin…

"All right then, Chisato Shiriyuki and Aya Yasumoto remain here, the rest of you, head up to the balcony." The proctor orders us.

The 10 of us begin to move, and I glance back at Chisato as I walk away.

"Good luck, give her hell." I say over my shoulder.

She responds with a thumb up, and the rest of us hurry to the balcony, not wanting to miss the start of the match, but also knowing that the match can't begin until after we've vacated.

I see Ishikawa waiting in the balcony as the Genin arrive, and we disperse, most heading to the railing to look out at the match, and I notice my opponent, the girl Mizu from the Village Hidden In The Mist, walks to a wall and stands there, closing her eyes moments later…

_Doesn't she care about the match, after all, if she's as good as she thinks she is and can beat me; she'll be fighting the winner of this one…_

I shrug it off, and turn my attention back to my sensei, and I stand next to him at the railing, and I look on, noticing a man standing next to him…

_He's tall, looks to be about Ishikawa's age, short blonde hair, clean shaven with no scars or marks on his face…_

"Josho-sensei!" I hear a male voice shout.

I turn around to see two kids my age approach the man standing next to Ishikawa…

_He must be their sensei, and that must mean that this guy is Aya's sensei as well…_

The genin are both male, one with brown long hair that's tied into a ponytail, while the other has short dark hair. The brown haired one wears a dark blue shirt and matching pants, with a deep red belt around his waist, a ninja pouch on his left thigh. He wears the same sandals as I do, and wears a pair of black fingerless gloves on his hands. The dark haired one wears a forest green vest that most Jounin wear, and a pair of black spandex shorts. He wears his headband around his forehead, the same with the other genin. The dark haired one wears ninja sandals, and keeps his pouch on his right thigh…

"Well Josho, I can see that you've been pushing your students since I last saw them." Ishikawa points out to the older man.

"And I can see that your students like to go missing for months on end." He shoots back, trying to sound cool and mature, and failing miserably…

"If you're referring to Tsuzaku, he merely had some private training to do, and didn't want to have to deal with any interruptions during the intense sessions."

The one called Josho grins.

"You think he trained intensely, I've pushed my students to the limits of their abilities and beyond during this last month, there's no way that Aya will lose to your Chisato."

"Ishikawa-sensei, what's going on?" I ask.

He half turns and smiles.

"Josho and I are academy rivals." He explains. "Ever since we were your age, we were constantly competing with each other." He continues. "So far, we've had 100 matches between us, and we're tied at fifty wins each."

_Jeez, you mean this guy can run with Ishikawa and manage to win, that's crazy…_

"Well Ishikawa, the match is going to start, so now you'll see just how sub standard your student is."

I only see our sensei smile a slight smile.

"And I think your student is over her head."

"All right." I hear the proctor begin. "If you're both ready, then begin!" He yells, jumping back.

It's like a starting gun is fired, and both of them come after each other bare handed. I watch as they strike and parry at each other, using taijutsu like two seasoned professional ninja. I watch as with each strike, they both begin to move faster and faster…

"Unreal…" I mutter. "Since when has Chisato's taijutsu been that well developed?" I ask.

Ishikawa grins.

"You don't think Chisato and Himeko have been sitting on their laurels the entire month do you?" Ishikawa asks. "Chisato has been training with me, honing her skills, and pushing herself."

"Whoa…" I mutter.

I watch as the two lock up, their fists pressing against each other, and then they push off, like two bulls that just ran into each other and didn't give an inch. They both jump back, putting distance between them, and I can tell that was only a skirmish…

_They're testing each other, they're both trying to gauge how much the other has improved, and they must have known each other before this match was decided…_

"You've gotten better, blondie." Aya shoots at Chisato.

I see my teammate stand there and remain calm, keeping her fighting stance, which looks a lot like the one I see Himeko use…

"Thanks, I wish I could say the same for you, but I can't."

"We'll see about that." Aya responds. "I'm not going to let you have Tsuzaku."

_What?_

"Well, aren't you just popular?" I hear Ishikawa ask sarcastically.

I don't respond as I listen to the two Genin speak.

"You're still hung up on that stupid crush?" Chisato asks. "After all this time, I thought you might get over it and fall for someone else."

"And you don't have a crush on him?" Aya asks. "I'm in love with Sasaki-kun, and I'm not going to let you have him."

Chisato shakes her head.

"I don't know what you see in him, but I can assure you, I don't care about him and your little crush one way or another." She begins, and I see her stance shift as she brings her hands together, and I watch her make a sequence of signs…

_That sequence, she can't be thinking of using that, there isn't any way her chakra can handle it!_

"Mirugan!" Chisato yells; naming the technique as the dojutsu takes effect.

"An old dojutsu huh?" Aya asks, watching Chisato. "Just what do you think you're going to do with that?"

I watch as Chisato assumes her stance once more.

"I'm going to beat you." She says simply, no emotion at all in her voice.

The wind blows, and I watch as it sweeps Aya's hair and blows it, and then I watch Chisato charge, running straight for her opponent…

_What's she planning, is she going to try and strike a frontal attack when she already tried that once already and it didn't get her anywhere?_

I watch as she runs, and I see her glaring at Aya, and watch as the other girl assumes a defensive stance, and I watch as Chisato throws a palm thrust toward Aya, and I watch as her palm goes toward Aya's face, and then…

She disappears in a blur of motion…

_That speed…_

I watch as she appears behind Aya and then drives her palm into Aya's left shoulder, and I hear the other girl groan as Chisato pushes off her shoulder and back flips, landing on her feet like a cat. I watch as Chisato grins, and I see Aya grab her shoulder, an expression of pain on her face…

"Ishikawa, what the hell just happened?" I ask. "She hardly even touched that girl…"

He nods.

"I know, and that's exactly what she wanted." He says, not answering my question.

"Could it be?" I hear Himeko mutter as she stands next to me and looks on…

_What the hell, what just happened?_

"Ishikawa, what did your student do?" Josho demands.

"She calls it the medic fist." He says simply.

_Medic fist?_

"And what is that?" Josho demands.

"It's a fighting style I helped her to create during this last month." He explains. "Chisato saw Himeko using her Gentle Fist to attack the chakra network and stop her opponent without breaking them in half, and wanted to learn to use that style of combat as well." He explains. "When I told her it wasn't possible because she couldn't use the Byakugan, she seemed to quiet down about it, however, when she saw that Mirugan, she found a replacement for the kekkei genkai she couldn't use." He continues. "She learned the Mirugan, and uses its ability to see through the skin and into the body to allow her to attack not the chakra network, but your internal organs and your muscles." He continues. "What just happened was what a glancing blow will cause when Chisato is using her own style of combat, she managed to damage the muscles in her opponents left shoulder, if she'd gotten a direct hit, and she would've rendered them unable to move."

_She did all of that in just a month? Chisato, you've gotten a lot stronger, you've developed your chakra control to the point that you can use it to attack your opponent internally, and you've also gotten much faster since I left…_

"Well, what do you think of that?" Chisato demands, remaining in her stance.

"What did you do to me?" Aya demands, clutching her shoulder in pain.

I see Chisato grin.

"I hit your shoulder muscle with a burst of my own chakra." She explains. "If you hadn't managed to move away from my thrust, I would've managed to cut the muscle from the bone."

I see the kunoichi groan under the pain, and Chisato stares on, watching her opponent for any movement, any attempt at offense…

_She's stalling Chisato, she knows that Mirugan jutsu is draining your chakra, and she's trying to bide her time until you use all of your chakra._

I watch as the two of them stand there, and I can tell that Aya is planning something…

_She's going to do something, and Chisato has to deal with it…_

I watch as the girl takes her hand from her shoulder, and then puts them together…

_Hand signs…_

Chisato charges, knowing that her opponent is preparing to use some sort of Jutsu, I watch as the kunoichi tries to throw a palm thrust at Aya, and I watch the blow strike her opponent, and then her opponent bursts into a puff of smoke…

_A replacement, combined with a clone jutsu, talk about knowing your stuff…_

Chisato stands there, and she looks around, scanning the area, and I see her gaze lock on a set of trees. I see her start making hand signs, and she makes familiar hand signs.

_She's going to use a fire jutsu?_

She charges forward, and I see her make an O with her thumb and pointer fingers in front of her face. Once she gets close, she blows through the circle, using fire chakra to set her breath on fire, and making a flamethrower out of her hand. I see Aya leap up from the flames, and kunai come down in a barrage. Chisato looks up, and I see Aya make hand signs, and she disappears in a puff of smoke as Chisato swats the knives with a blade of her own…

"Where'd she go?" I hear Chisato mutter.

I see Chisato spin around, and I see Aya appear in front of her, charging forward with a knife in hand. The two of them clash, and Aya glares at Chisato, hatred in her eyes.

"I won't lose…" She mutters. "Not in front of him!"

Chisato grumbles.

"Are you still hung up on Tsuzaku?" Chisato asks sarcastically.

"You don't understand…" She mutters. "You could NEVER understand!"

"Understand what?" Chisato asks her voice completely clueless.

"Ever since we started in the academy…" Aya begins. "When I first saw him, I fell for him, and I could never summon the courage to tell him how I feel." She continues. "Every time I looked at him, I just felt my head get light, and my chest get tight." She continues. "And then, on the day of our squad assignments, I see that YOU of all people are assigned to the same squad as him…" She finishes.

"So?" Chisato demands, sending her left foot up and into Aya's chest.

The other kunoichi leaps back, dodging the kick, and I see her eyes glare at her opponent.

"You can't understand, I felt crushed, and I tried desperately to be reassigned, to have your position changed with mine, but our teacher said the squad assignments were final, and would not be changed, barring a squad member's death." She explains. "So, I couldn't take your place, so I started training. I pushed myself each and every day to make myself stronger, knowing that some day my chance would come, that I'd be able to prove myself to him and everyone else, and that I should take your place on his squad." She continues. "And then, when I heard you were in this Chunin exam, I prayed that this chance would come, that the two of us would end up facing each other, so I pushed myself to pass every test thrown at us." She continues. "And now, we're facing each other, and you're giving me everything you've got." She pauses as she puts her hands together.

I watch as her hands form hand signs, focusing her chakra.

"Those hand signs…" I hear Ishikawa mutter. "Josho, what have you taught that girl?" He demands.

I see her Jounin smile.

"That girl has a dream, and the fire of love burns inside of her." He explains. "I only did what anyone in my position would've done, and I taught her how to give life to that fire."

_Give life to that fire, what the hell is he talking about?_

Aya makes a last hand sign, and holds it.

"Fire Style: Flame Burst Jutsu!" She names the technique.

The chakra around her ignites in flame, and I can see the fire seems to invigorate her…

"Sensei, what's going on?" I ask.

"That Jutsu…" He begins. "It's a ninjutsu version of a forbidden method of taijutsu called opening the inner gates." He explains. "Using a form of taijutsu, you can open the chakra limiters within the body and temporarily gain great strength." He explains. "However, opening the gates ravages the user's body, and afterward, the user normally can't move for at least a day."

"So what then, why is she using this ninjutsu?" I ask.

"It's probably because she wants to beat Chisato, and she doesn't think any other technique is going to get the job done." He says, turning to the other Jounin. "However, that doesn't justify you teaching her that jutsu." He says. "The technique is forbidden for a reason, and yet you let your feelings get in the way, and you taught her anyway."

He shrugs.

"It isn't as though I taught her completely." He shoots back. "I only showed her the basics of the technique; she's the one who forced herself to master it."

A shout pierces my ears, and I turn to see Aya charge, the fire surrounding her in almost like an aura, and I watch as she moves much faster then she did before, and I watch as she disappears in a flash of movement, and I see her appear behind Chisato, driving her fist into the back of Chisato's skull…

_That speed…_

I see Chisato fly forward and then drive her hands to the ground and flip forward, spinning around as Aya takes off into a run, disappearing in a blur of speed. I watch as Chisato moves at the last second, blocking Aya's thrust from behind her. I watch as Chisato pushes her away, and then charges for her, throwing her fist like a bullet toward the kunoichi in front of her. Aya lands on her feet, and then balls her right hand into a fist, and then throws her fist forward, the two of them landing blows on each other's cheeks, and the two of them send each other flying back. Chisato lands on her stomach and Aya lands on her back.

The two of them lay there, and for a few moments, there's nothing but silence as the crowd goes deathly silent, looking on as the two ninja lie there, and I grip the hand rail, watching as both of them begin to move…

Chisato pushes herself up as Aya grabs gets to her feet as well, and there's silence as the two of them stand ten feet across from each other. I watch as Chisato raises her right hand.

"Proctor, I give up." She volunteers.

I watch as Aya's eyes go wide, and disbelief fills them.

"What was that?" The proctor asks. "Are you sure you want to?"

She nods.

"My chakra is almost completely drained, and I know that Aya's is as well." She says. "If I had to fight again in the second round, I'd be physically drained and unable to give a good performance." She explains.

With that, the proctor looks at Aya.

"And the winner of the match, by forfeit, is Aya Yasumoto." He says.

There's a roar in the crowd, and I can tell that they aren't satisfied. The crowd roars at the anti climatic ending to the first fight, and I hop over the hand rail and I land on the ground, walking forward toward Chisato, and I stop when I get close to her.

"Looks like you're time in the exam is over." I say simply.

She grins.

"Yeah, I know, but I'm going to enjoy watching you whip the crap out of Aya in the second round."

I turn around and I glare at my opponent…

_That's if I can beat this girl. I don't know why but it feels like there's much more to her then meets the eye…_

The proctor glares at me.

"And you are?" I hear him ask.

"My name is Tsuzaku Sasaki." I explain. "And I'm one of the competitors in the next match."

He nods, and he looks at both of the first round competitors.

"You two should get out of here." He tells them, and he turns to Mizu. "Now, get down here."

The two kunoichi leave as the third, fresh girl leaps over the hand rail and then lands on her feet, approach me slowly with a smile on her face. She stops with six feet between us, and she stares at me, a sadistic smile on her face.

"You don't know how I've waited for this day." She tells me, her voice filled with pleasure. "This last month, I've meditated on this match, dreamt of this fight." She continues.

"So what, ever since I snubbed you, you've been angry at me?"

She grins.

"You're the only one." She tells me. "You're the only one who can entertain me!"

I brace myself, and I realize that the proctor hasn't even started the match yet…

"If you're all done…" He begins. "You may start!"

With that he leaps back, and for good reason. I watch as Mizu reaches over her shoulder and grabs at the cork on top of the large bottle on her back, and then she tosses it at me in a backhand motion. I raise my left hand and grab the cork, catching it in my palm.

"A little zealous, aren't we?" I ask.

She grins, and I see water slowly flow from the top of the bottle, and then land on the ground, splashing gently as more water flows from the bottle to the ground. I watch as more and more water comes from the bottle, and I don't know how the water is flowing, since the bottle is pointed up and to my right, which would seemingly prevent water flow, at least by gravity…

_How is she doing that? Does she have some sort of pump concealed in that tank, or is it something else…_

"What's the matter?" She asks. "Why don't you attack, why don't you entertain me?" She demands.

I go for my pouch with my left hand. I grab three shuriken from my pouch and throw them toward her, and I watch as the water settles around her in a circle, and then at the last moment, the water shoots up and catches the shuriken in mid air. I watch as the water moves in a wave motion, sending the shuriken back at me, somehow throwing the ninja stars back at me. I duck under them, letting the stars pass overhead harmlessly, and I see her glare at me.

"Is that all you can do?" She asks. "Is that your best attack?"

_Haven't you ever heard to never go all out right away?_

I shift my feet against the ground, and I stare, watching everything about my opponent…

_I might not have to use my Sharingan to beat her; in fact, I hope that I don't have to. If I could manage to get through this without using it, I'd be happy…_

"If you're just going to stand there, then I'll end this!" She yells.

She extends her right arm and opens her palm. The water responds by charging forward along the ground. The water gets close and shoots up quickly, and I jump back, feeling it brush past my exposed skin, and knowing that if that hits me, it'll be able to tear my arm off. I land on my feet as the water apexes, and then arcs down toward me, trying to attack me again. I keep jumping as the water chases me down, trying to cut me apart. I keep on my feet, moving as fast I can at my current level.

I feel myself get near the wall, and from sheer sense of presence, I leap forward at an angle, going into a roll as I barely dodge the stream of quickly moving water. I come up on my feet, and I charge forward, moving out in arch pattern to get myself away from the water. As I run, I make hand signs, and I finish with a sign that makes a circle in front of my mouth…

_Fire style…_

I inhale through my nose, and when I get within five feet of her, I exhale through my mouth, blowing air through my hand, and the fire chakra igniting it and turning it into a flame thrower as I spray fire toward her. I watch as the fire lands on its mark, and I see water come up to protect her, and a cloud of steam surrounds her.

_Crap, in this steam, she can get a shot off and I'll never know what's going to happen…_

I instinctively leap back, putting 8 feet between us as the cloud of steam clears. I watch as she stands there, and I see her smile.

"You think a mere fire jutsu is going to stop me?" She asks. "There isn't a fire jutsu in the world that can destroy my water."

I watch as the steam around her begins to solidify, and then I see it turn back into water. I don't believe my eyes as she stands there, and I see her focus the water back into a column of rapidly moving water. She ends the column at me, and I sidestep, charging forward and making quick hand signs. I see her bring the water around and toward my back, and I stop in my tracks, making the last hand sign and facing the water.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bombs!" I yell, exhaling after I do.

I shoot fire from my mouth, burning the water and creating instant steam as her water and my fire meet. I leap back, landing on my feet and kneeling as I see the steam liquefy again.

"Still, you're trying to use those pathetic fire jutsu against me?" She asks.

I hold my right hand up, my pointer and middle finger extended. As I release the chakra out of my legs…

"Trying another worthless jutsu are we?" She asks. "Well die!"

She sends the water after me again, and I wait until the water is close enough that I can see it, and then…

The water hits the ground and smashes it, creating a crater that's roughly 6 feet across. I stand behind her, my hands together in a hand sign…

"What now?" She asks as she turns around.

I take off into a run and I run around her, keeping my distance far enough away from her that I'm surrounding her and the water that rests around her. As I run around her, I see her eyes moving and following me.

"You just going to keep running around, or are you at least going to try attacking me with something that might make me break a sweat?"

_You'll break a sweat with this one lady…_

I finish running around her and I stop outside the circle I've tread into the ground. I then make one handed hand signs, focusing chakra into my right hand.

"What are you going to do now?" She asks.

I drive my right hand into the ground, landing my hand on the circle…

"Fire Style: Circle of Hell Jutsu!" I shout out, naming the technique.

The fire chakra shoots out of my hand and goes into the ground. The fire based chakra serves as a match to ignite the chakra that I released through my legs while running around her, and it ignites, creating a flaming circle that burns at near inferno temperatures…

_I developed this jutsu after I lost my sword. During that week, I managed to develop that flaming hand technique into this, though I don't know exactly how this is going to affect her, with that shield of water and all…_

As my technique burns out, a cloud of steam forms in its place, and I turn on my Sharingan out of fear, knowing that she could still strike…

I see water shoot up from within the cloud, and I move my head back, feeling the water graze my right eye, and I feel the light cut go into my eye, but it doesn't cause any damage or inhibit my vision…

_Shit, if I hadn't activated my Sharingan that strike would've gone through my eye…_

I can feel the blood come down my face as I stare on with an unflinching eye at the girl in the center of the burned out circle of flame…

I watch as the steam fades, returning to it's liquid form, and I watch as she steps forward, her water moving along the ground with her as she leaves the burnt out area and stands on fresh, undamaged soil…

"So, that's the infamous Sharingan, eh?" She says, looking at me.

_Unbelievable, she took that jutsu, and doesn't even have a scratch on her. How is that possible? That jutsu should've burned her alive and given her second degree burns at least, but she doesn't even have a bruise on her…_

"Yes, this is the Sharingan, and it's going to be the last thing you see."

She grins.

"Do you honestly believe that ridiculous dojutsu of yours is going to increase your chances of beating me?"

I nod, and I place my right hand over my right eye, focusing my chakra into my hand, and imbuing it into the cut, closing the wound as the kunoichi looks on…

I pull my hand away a moment later, and then wipe the blood onto the bandages on my right arm, clearing it away from my face.

"So, someone taught you to close your wounds using your chakra, eh?" She asks. "Too bad no measure of medical skill is going to save you when I tear you apart!"

I assume a fighting stance, my legs spread, my right arm behind my back, and my left hand up, my hand a flat palm, my palm facing me.

"I'll give you one chance." I tell her. "To surrender before you suffer serious injuries."

She raises her eyebrows.

"Serious injuries, you've got to be joking!" She responds. "You're the one with a new scar on your face; I haven't even been touched by any of your stupid attacks!"

"I'm truly sorry then."

"Die!" She yells, attacking me with a blast of water.

I move quickly, disappearing in a blur of motion, and I move around her, behind her, and I stop there, staring at her back. I stand there for only a moment before I spring forward, sending my left fist into her back, and then I spin counterclockwise, sending my right foot up at an angle knocking her into the air. She goes up 6 feet into the air, and I stand solid, looking at her back as I coil my legs, and I leap up, driving both fists into her back, causing her to continue her ascent. Then, I quickly spin clockwise in the air, extending my foot and driving it into her stomach as she begins to rise, my foot hitting her straight in the ribs…

"Closed Lotus!" I shout out as I deliver the kick, sending her back down into the ground with a loud impact, kicking up dust and dirt everywhere…

I stop spinning and try to reverse my momentum as I fall to the ground and land on my feet. I land outside the cloud of dust, and I half turn to the proctor.

"Proctor, please call a medic." I say simply. "My opponent is in need of immediate medical…" I trail off, my Sharingan showing me what's inside the cloud…

_This isn't possible. I saw each of those blows land completely. The last kick alone should've broken ribs and maybe even damaged her heart. Everything I've done up until that last technique was meant only to subdue her, but with the Closed Lotus, I meant to kill her, so how is it that she's standing up…_

I can see her getting to her feet, and her skin seems to slip off of her body, as though the outer layer were molting off…

"What's wrong, Tsuzaku?" I hear the proctor's voice in my ear.

I shake my head.

"I thought that my opponent was in need of medical attention, however it seems as though I was wrong…" I mutter; disbelief in my voice.

As the dust settles, I can hear Ishikawa talking about the taijutsu I just used, and I remember Lee telling me about it…

_'I developed this jutsu as a finishing maneuver as an alternate to the Reverse Lotus. You see, in order to use the Reverse Lotus, you have to open the inner gates within your body, however in order to use this taijutsu, you only need to train your body and gain great speed and strength, and you don't have to open any of the gates within your body, making this technique much more practical then using the Reverse Lotus.'_

I watch as the dust clears, and I see Mizu standing in the middle of the crater, what looks like pieces of her skin have fallen to the ground, and what lies on the ground are…

_Wet marks, does that mean that she's got a layer of water on top of her…_

I watch as the wet marks on the ground begin to move, and I see water come up through the ground and then slither up her body, concentrating on the broken areas of the outer layer of her body, and reforming over it, forming a perfect layer that covers her entire body. She stands there motionless as the armor reforms, and then I see water around her crawl up her back, and I see it form…

_The bottle on her back, it wasn't made of foggy glass, it was made of ice! That's how she survived the Closed Lotus. She melted the bottle on her back and used it to cushion her fall. And, it would seem as though she keeps a layer of water on top of her skin that she can use to cushion any blow landed on her, which explains why she isn't paralyzed, since she didn't feel the full force of my attacks…_

I watch as she finishes literally pulling herself together again, and looks no worse for wear after having just weathered one of my best attacks.

"Just what are you?" I demand. "You can't be human anymore!"

She nods.

"You're right." She says solemnly. "I'm not human, not completely."

I raise my eyebrows as she lowers her robes, exposing her shoulders, and I can see black tribal like marks covering her shoulders.

"What are those?" I ask.

"A curse mark." She tells me. "Ever since I was born, I've had to bare this mark." She continues. "I was born to be the hope of the Hidden Mist, and be the future Mizukage." She continues.

"Why are you telling me this, and how does that mark do anything?"

"It's a curse jutsu that was developed by the previous Mizukage." She explains. "When word got out that the Fifth Kazekage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Sand, was able to manipulate sand, the Mizukage wished to control water in a similar fashion." She continues. "What he managed to create was this curse mark, at the cost of his own life; he managed to bestow upon a single child the power to manipulate water." She explains to me.

Still a question burns in my mind.

"Why are you telling me this, why tell me all this rather then just kill me?"

She smiles.

"You and I are a lot alike." She says. "For some reason, I don't know why, I feel as though you're somewhat of a kindred spirit." She tells me.

"Then why bother killing me?" I ask.

"Because, you're one of the only people in the world who can give me a challenge worth my time!"

The water charges for me, and I swear under my breath, starting the game of jump and dodge again. I keep moving, and I swear to myself as I think about my next move…

_I don't have any choice, I have to use my last trump card, but in my current state, I don't have the chakra necessary to use it right now. I have to focus my chakra, and I'm going to need time, and in her current enraged mood, I doubt she's going to stand there and let me gather and focus chakra…_

I land on my two feet, and I see the water charging for me, nearly rushing down my throat…

I move with all available speed, disappearing into a blur of movement, and I move around in an arc, and I charge into the forest, getting behind a tree and putting my back to it, looking onward toward where the girl stands, and I raise my right hand, making a simple hand sign to help focus my chakra…

_I'll only need a few moments, just long enough to build up the right amount, and then I'll give you something that you won't just shrug off, something that you won't be able to stop…_

"Where are you, huh?" I hear her demand. "Why do you run, why not face me and die like the man you claim you are!"

_To quote a comic book villain, why die today when you can kill tomorrow?_

"Aha!" She yells, and I know my time in hiding is over.

I see her eyes lock on where I am, and I see the water charge along the ground, and then come after me in a wave…

_Shit!_

I leap from my hiding place, moving both away from her and away from the water, landing and going into a roll as I look to see the water turning toward me. I start running as the water begins to chase me, and I see her grin.

"Are you really that desperate that you're trying to buy time, just to think of a way out of this situation?"

_During my training, I could only use this jutsu twice in one day, and then I was at my absolute maximum, my chakra drained to the point that I could barely move. And, since I've been fighting her and using chakra to power the jutsu I've fired at her during this match, and I've managed to use just enough that I've burned the same amount of chakra that using my trump card once would consume…_

I stop running and I face her, seeing the water as he approaches me, and I disappear in a blur of motion. I reappear behind her, and I start making hand signs, standing at the complete opposite side of the arena as her water, which she has extended on my previous trip around…

_That should give me all the time I need…_

I close my eyes for a moment, and I remember my training, remember what I had to do in order to activate 'it'…

_Now; let this work…_

I open my eyes, and I don't feel anything different, but I can tell that I've done what I've wanted, that my one month training has paid off, and I'm ready to face her.

Even at this distance, I can tell she's noticed a change in my appearance…

"Your eyes…" She mutters. "Why is there a fourth dot in them?"

I grin.

_Perfect, she's just confirmed that I've activated the new form of the Sharingan that came to me during my training…_

I can remember when it first happened. I spent every night and every day trying to gain control over the black chakra, and the two jutsu that the monster inside of me seems to like using so much. I trained and trained, constantly trying to force myself to use either of the two jutsu that the demon uses. Finally, after 10 days, I could feel the black fire appear in my hands, and I felt a change in my Sharingan when I finally managed to master the technique…

_I remember standing there, the black flame burning in my right hand, and then I ended up putting my hand in a river to try and kill the fire, and I saw how my Sharingan had changed, gaining a fourth seal within the eye. Then, when I reactivated the Sharingan, it returned to only 3 seals, but when I tried to use the technique, to practice it, and I learned to call the fourth seal into my eye, and figured out that I had to call it into my eyes before I could use the technique…_

I stare at her with my Sharingan, and I hold my right hand in front of me, the palm toward the sky, my fingers arched. I focus chakra there, and I can feel the black fire begin to build within my hand.

"Now…" I mutter.

I see her stare at the technique, burning in my hand…

_I can't maintain this forever, have to finish this now…_

I charge forward, my left hand resting on my right wrist, below my hand. I run forward with all my speed, and I drive my hand forward as she raises a wall of water in front of her. I watch my right hand go into the water, and I see the water burn off and the wall opens, pushing my hand further as I drive my right hand into her body, opening my fingers and releasing the technique…

Black fire leaps from between us, and blows her backward, and I can see the water armor that she wore burned away from her chest as she lands on her side, hitting hard as she skids back and then comes to a stop, near the far wall, and her body lies motionless as my right hand twitches, the bandages around my fingers burned away, revealing 1st degree burns on my fingers, my hand twitching uncontrollably…

"Proctor, she needs medical attention…" I say, winded and breathing heavily as my chakra is nearly drained…

_Damn, that jutsu nearly killed me. Maybe I used more chakra during the first part of the match then I thought…_

The proctor nods calmly.

"The winner of the match is: Tsuzaku Sasaki." He announces, and then. "We need a medic team out here immediately!"

I watch as medical ninja come out of the arena and place the unconscious girl on the stretcher, while a third ninja approaches me, as I clutch my right arm at my wrist…

"Are you in need of medical attention, Mr. Sasaki?" The male ninja asks.

I shake my head, the Sharingan gone from my eyes.

"I'm fine, you should be focusing more on her, and I'm in nowhere near as bad a shape as she is."

Even as I blatantly lie about my own situation, and I watch as they haul her away toward a make shift emergency room, I follow the medics toward the arena building, and I see Himeko ahead of me, and I watch the medics take my opponent pass her. I stop as I walk by, and she looks down at my right hand, and then her eyes drift to my face.

"Are you all right, Tsuzaku?" I hear her ask.

I nod, and she looks down at my hand.

"That doesn't look okay…" She says.

I shake my head.

"Really, my hand feels fine."

"Let me see." She persists.

I sigh lightly, knowing it's pointless to try and argue with her as I raise my right hand, and point the top of my hand toward her, letting my fingers dangle slightly…

"These burns, they look like they've been there for more then a month."

I nod.

"They have been, and haven't exactly had the time to heal properly."

She reaches into her coat, and withdraws a small closed bottle of ointment.

"This is medicine." She tells me. "My mom made it, and she told me that if you put it on injuries, it will help them to heal faster."

I nod, taking the bottle from her.

"Thank you, Himeko." I say. "But I think you're match is next."

She nods, smiling.

"It is." She tells me. "I think you should get your wounds worked on, and then during the second round, you'll feel better about it."

I turn, facing back into the arena building.

"I know, you be careful in your match." I tell her.

She smiles.

"I will be, and I'll be sure to meet you in the third round."

She walks toward the proctor, and I follow the girl called Mizu farther into the building, and I walk to her room, seeing that a medic is looking her over, and I stand outside for a few moments, opening the small covered bowl with my left hand, and then I manage to cover my hand in the ointment, and I feel the pain begin to dull, the burns beginning to feel slightly better…

I redress the bandages, wrapping them lightly around my forearms, and then I wrap them around my fingers individually, and then back up my wrist, tying it near my elbow. I stand there for a bit, flexing my fingers and making sure my hand still works, and the salve on my hand dulling the pain a great amount, and I clench my hand a final time as a medic emerges from the room, seeing me standing there.

"Oh, Mr. Sasaki…" He mutters.

The medic wears the same white coat that many other medics wear, and he has short dark hair, with dark eyes that seem unbelievably calm…

"How is she?" I ask him, and I see him nod.

"She isn't going to die, and the wounds are minor." He explains. "She's still conscious, but she seems to be physically exhausted from your fight." He continues.

"Could I talk to her?" I ask.

His eyes go down to the ninja pouch on my right hip.

"I won't let you take weapons into the room." He says. "You'll have to leave them here."

I nod, undoing the strap around my thigh, and handing him the pouch.

"I have no murderous intention." I explain myself. "And even if I did, I'm physically and mentally exhausted, so I don't think I'd want to start something with her."

He nods, looking me over.

"I'll be monitoring your visit, and if it appears as though she's getting weaker, you'll have to leave immediately."

I nod my agreement, and he steps aside as I walk inside the room, and I see the girl lying on the bed, the large bottle sitting next to the bed, a cork pressed into the top. I see her lying there on the bed, and her head turns toward me, and I see surprise in her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asks. "You won our match, so what more do you want from me, an admittance of defeat?"

I shake my head.

"You agreed with me when I said you weren't entirely human anymore during our match." I begin. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm in the same situation, I've been cursed just like you."

She looks me over.

"You don't look like you've got a mark on you anywhere."

I nod.

"There's a demon inside of me, and he fights me for control of my body whenever I get weak." I continue. "It's only because that last technique I used managed to drain away some of his chakra, and weakened him as well."

She shakes her head.

"What does that matter to me, right now, I can only think that you're here to try and kill me."

I shake my head again.

"No, I'm probably incapable of killing you right now, and considering that your chakra isn't as low as mine, you're in better shape to defend yourself then I am to try and kill you."

She looks away from me, looking at the foot of the bed.

"I guess, but I still don't understand why you're here."

"I guess…" I begin. "I'm here because you're like me, and I thought that you might want to talk about what you're going through, and I just wanted you to know that I understand what's happening to you somewhat, so you can talk to me."

"I don't talk much." She responds. "My teammates fear my power, and my village looks at me with a sort of disdain that the people of your village don't look at you with."

I shake my head.

"The Sharingan you saw, it's the kekkei genkai of a nearly extinct clan." I explain. "If I was using that clan's name as my own, I'm positive that people would've been booing me while I was out there fighting you, and even more people would be afraid of me, for things my father and my uncle have done…"

"Your father?" She responds.

I nod.

"I've never even met him before in my entire life, and ever since I could remember I've only been living with a foster family, adopted by the good graces of someone within the village." I explain. "Without them, I doubt that I'd even be here today."

"At least your family will look at you, and harbors feelings of love for you." She explains. "My family believes me to be crazed, and that the mark that covers my body makes me too strong."

I shake my head.

"You've got power, I cannot deny that, but you also have a just conscience." I tell her. "You've never killed someone in your life, no matter what they did to you, you never took their lives."

Her eyes go wide.

"How do you know that?" She asks.

I point to my own eyes.

"One of the things my Sharingan does is allow me to hypnotize you through eye contact, it even allows me to slightly read into your mind, though nothing that impressive." I explain. "I've seen your mindset, and I can tell that your mind is clean."

She sighs lightly.

"I've never wanted to kill anyone, but the ninja in my village are afraid of me, and what people fear, they try to kill."

I nod.

"I've managed to hide the truth about my existence from most people within the village, but without the people on my team, trusting me and keeping my secret, the entire village would know that there's something inside of me."

She throws the blankets off, and moves to get out of the bed.

"Are you sure you should be moving?" I ask, and she nods.

"If I'm to recover, I have to do this, so please don't alert that annoying medic ninja."

I nod as she walks to the sink next to the bed, and I see her pull the cork from her bottle as she turns the water on, putting her hands in the sink as the water hits her body, and I see her close her eyes…

The water fills the sink, and I see it spill over and onto the floor, and then I see it move along the floor, moving up the bottle and into the bottle itself, like worms slithering back into their hole. I watch as she stands there, and she remains silent as she continually lets the water spill over, until I see her reach for the knob, turning the water off…

_So, I take it she was refilling her water supply, so what is she going to do with the remaining water in the sink?_

I watch as she pulls the water up and over her body, the water reforming the layer of armor across her body, and then taking shape, the water undistinguishable from her previous form.

_Hell, before I could tell even with my Sharingan that she had a layer of water on top of her, and she's doing the same thing now, so it's no wonder that she can make it so right…_

She turns around and looks at me.

"Well, I feel better." She explains.

I open my mouth to ask, but she waves her hand, shushing me.

"It's part of this mark…" She mutters. "My chakra is connected to this water." She explains. "That's how I manipulate it, if the water I use was ever completely destroyed, and then I'd get very weak, and die shortly afterward."

_That's…_

"You mean; your life is connected to the water?"

She nods.

"When my supply is filled, my body will naturally heal toward my normal, uninjured strength, but when my supply isn't full, I will never fully regain my strength."

I shake my head.

"That really…"

"Sucks, doesn't it?" She asks, finishing my sentence.

I nod.

"I don't know how I can even begin to sympathize with you, but I'm here to listen to you if you want to talk to me, our villages are allies, so I can't think of any reason for there to be any animosity between us."

"Points for the big word." She says, adding humor to the mood. "I never really had any desire hurt you personally." She pauses. "But I've found that I get the best fight out of someone when I threaten their lives, and when I try to kill them."

I exhale through my nose.

"So, you're saying you just wanted me to entertain you and fight you with all I've got?"

She nods happily.

"Yep, when a person's life is threatened, their full strength comes out relatively quickly." She points out, matter of factly.

I open my mouth to respond to her comment, but a loud noise cuts me off.

An explosion rocks the building, the structure shaking beneath our feet, and the girl and I look at each other, and then toward the door…

"Oh hell…" I mutter.


	9. Chapter 9

(Well, I was asked to update, and I managed to get this chapter done about a week ago, and I wanted to space the updates out a bit more, though I'm still tweaking 10, so I can't post that yet, but I've proof read this one, and I think you'll all like it. I know a lot of this is similar to Orochimaru's attack on the Leaf, and the reason is, that attack was the most successful campaign against a Shinobi village, so this group opted for a similar strategy…)

Chapter 9: The Ultimate Team…

Mizu and I look at each other, and then we both take off down the hall, running toward the open air arena. We both emerge into the arena and I see Himeko and her opponent standing there, the proctor laid out on the ground near the wall. I recognize the fourth man that doesn't belong…

_That's the leader of the Yamikage, the Jounin that I fought during the second phase of the test…_

He nails Himeko's opponent in the jaw, and sends him flying toward the wall.

"Kazuhiko!" Mizu yells out his name, and I see him hit the ground.

The leader of the Yamikage turns toward Himeko, and I see her stand her ground…

"Now die!" He yells out, ready to send his fist at her.

In a split second, I see water shoot across the ground and shoot up in front of the Jounin's fist, and form a wall. I watch as he looks at the wall of water with a questioning look, and then follows the liquid back to its source, and plants his eyes on Mizu.

"You did that?" He asks dryly.

I hear her grunt.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm not going to let you hurt my cousin like that." She says simply.

I see a smile spread on his face.

"So, you're going to try and stop me, in your current condition?" He asks.

I look at Himeko.

"Himeko, I have a favor to ask." I begin, and his eyes, go back to her.

"What is it, Tsuzaku?" She asks.

I cast a glance up to the viewing platform reserved for VIPs, and I can see a maroon colored box surrounding the area, and I know that a barrier has been placed around the platform, with the Hokage, Mizukage, and Kazekage all trapped inside…

_If those three were free, these ninja would be routed in mere moments, and in my current condition, I can't do anything to try and free them._

"You looking at the centerpiece of my little trap?" Akira, the leader of the Yamikage asks. "I must admit, it was sheer genius to disguise four of my minions as members of the three Kage bodyguards, and then kill the remainder of the real guards, and seal the three of them inside a prison which will burn them alive if they try and get out."

_He's made one mistake, and I don't think he knows what it is yet, so I have to get Himeko to bring some help powerful help here, help capable of breaking that barrier by striking the people who maintain it._

"Himeko, I need you to get out of here and find some help!" I tell her. "Bring some Jounin here, and have them repel this attack!"

She looks at me with a questioning stare, her kekkei genkai active in her eyes.

"But, I can help you fight him!" She shouts. "I've been training too, and I've gotten stronger as well!"

I smile.

"I know." I tell her. "And that's why I'm asking you to do this, because I know you're strong enough to get past any ninja that may try and stop you, and you'll be able to find help."

I see the realization come to her face, and in a moment, she nods.

"I'm counting on you, Himeko." I tell her, nodding.

She nods affirmatively, and then leaps away, and I see Akira turn around.

"You aren't getting away!" He yells, leaping into the air.

_Apparently, he's forgotten the water that was already extended toward him._

I watch as Mizu sends her water up after him, grabbing him by the leg, and then flinging him around in a circle and throwing him toward the arena wall. He flips in the air and lands on his feet, glaring at Mizu…

"You…" I see him mutter, reading his lips.

I look at the girl.

"I don't know if I'll be of any use to you in this fight." I tell her. "I've fought him before when I was in top condition, and I barely managed to fight him off, the demon inside me had to beat him."

She nods.

"You'll be useful." She says, looking forward. "As long as you can still use your Sharingan."

_My Sharingan, I should still have enough to chakra left to use it, but why does…_

I suddenly understand, and I nod.

"You want me to track him for you, and predict his movements for you?"

She nods.

"Although it'll be impossible for you to communicate with me if we're standing apart from each other." She begins, melting the ice on her back and allowing it to go down to the ground. "Climb on my back and hold on." She tells me.

_Her back?_

I nearly blush and I stand there, dumbstruck at her plan.

She glances at me, and then back to Akira.

"What are you waiting for, climb on before we're both killed!"

I nod, realizing what's at stake, and I climb on her back, looking toward Akira, I see a grin appear on his face.

"You too weak to run away on your own, so you're letting that girl carry you?" He chides.

I wrap my legs around her waist, and looping my arms together, resting my arms on her shoulders.

I close my eyes a moment, and then open them, feeling the Sharingan now in my eyes…

"I'm ready whenever you are." I tell her.

She stands there and assumes a basic taijutsu stance, with her arms close to her body, her palms open. She glares at the man as he slowly walks toward her, and I hear her whisper to me.

"You sure that girl you sent to get help is going to come with it?"

I nod.

"I'd stake my life on it."

She grins.

"I think you may just have to back that up." She tells me. "Because if she doesn't bring help, we're dead." She tells me simply.

I nod, already well aware of that fact…

_At least with my Sharingan, the major lapse in her defense is gone. As long as I'm here, I can track and predict his movements and tell her where he's coming from. I can also break down any jutsu he uses, and tell her the best way to counter it. If you think about it, if we were both healthy, we'd be nearly unbeatable…_

I don't have any more time to think, as Akira springs into his motion, his short black hair well kept and his dark eyes like sheets of black ice, deceptively dangerous…

He disappears, and I recognize the technique…

_Body flicker, a jutsu which allows the user to move like he's teleporting, but I can see it, and track it, thanks to my Sharingan…_

"Behind and to your left." I whisper into Mizu's ear.

I don't have time for more then that, and she understands the second I finish the sentence. Her water shoots up in the location I specified, less then a foot away from us and he appears in the next instant, his fist slamming into the wall of water, and I see his eyes go wide. She sends her water after him, a column of water freezing to ice shooting up off of the bottom of wall, where the wall meets the ground. He leaps back, barely dodging the attack, and I can see he's shaken as I watch him with my Sharingan, and I see him start to think.

"He's considering his next move, push your advantage." I advise her, and her grin is her only answer.

The ice spike melts, forming water again and merges with the water of the wall, and forms a giant whip. She flings the water around in a flat wave, ready to knock the ninja off his feet and into the wall. Akira leaps up and over diagonally, flipping sideways over the whip and landing on his feet. I watch as he charges forward, pulling a kunai out to try and slice Mizu open. She sees the attack, and I don't say anything as the water whip, easily 4 feet around, shifts and comes up, using the column like water to block his slash from the knife, and then he brings his feet forward, trying to kick her in the stomach. More water greets him, and I realize that she was keeping the water that made up the ice of her container in reserve, the water moving quicker then the rest, and I realize it's because of the amount of chakra that's imbued into it.

_She forcefully has to freeze that water and keep it frozen all the time, which means it's had much more chakra imbued into it then her normal water, which she keeps within the ice, the ice shaped bottle never really freezing it, since on the surface of the ice is cold, and the air inside isn't…_

He sees that he's in trouble, and he releases a burst of chakra from his legs to push himself free of the water and kick off of it, back flipping and landing on his feet as Mizu stands there, glaring at him.

_I would think she's trying to kill him, but she's also buying time for Himeko to try and get help. If I could, I would look at the Kage platform to see if the ninja who formed the barrier are still there, but I can't look away for a second, out of fear that he'll do something, and Mizu won't be able to track his movements…_

He starts making hand signs, and I can see, and know, what jutsu he's coming at her with.

"Fire Jutsu…" I murmur, only loud enough so that Mizu can hear, and not moving my lips enough for Akira to catch it.

He opens his mouth and I see him inhale, and I know exactly what jutsu he's about to use and I can feel the water pull back and surround us the moment before he unleashes the technique…

_The Dragon Flame Missile eh, I guess that Jutsu is popular enough to be known even in the Waterfall country. Then again, he's probably spent the last month here, in the Country of Fire, which can explain how he knows any fire based techniques…_

I see the dome of water surround us, and I watch as it chills and freezes in a moment, turning to ice, and I can see her chakra flowing into it, further strengthening the sphere, and also making the ice colder. I see the flames lick the outside of the sphere, my Sharingan showing me everything quite clearly as I see the fire go around the sphere, the air within the sphere beginning to grow cold…

_He can't maintain this intensity of attack for long. I don't care how much chakra you have, fire based techniques consume a lot of chakra, and this man does not have a limitless supply, no one does…_

I release a breath from my lungs, and I see a cloud appear in front of my lips.

"Cold?" I ask; an inquisitive tone to my voice.

"Sorry." She responds. "Because I had to freeze the water in the sphere, it naturally also lowers the air temperature inside, but it'll warm up once I lower the sphere." She explains.

I nod me agreement, tightening my grip around her, knowing that our combined body heat will be greater the closer we are, and I don't even think about how it would look to someone from the outside, only of keeping myself warm…

I turn my attention to outside the sphere, and I can see fire surrounding us, being fueled by Akira's technique, he continues to add more fuel to the flame, and begins to increase the intensity…

"He's increasing the temperature of the fire." I tell her, and she nods.

I see her chakra begin to slow the molecules of water even further, and thus reducing the temperature of the ice even further…

_How much farther can these two go? I know this can't keep up forever, and the only good thing about what's going on is that it's buying time for Himeko to bring help from the Village._

I check my watch, and I see it's been roughly 4 minutes since Mizu first formed the sphere…

"This is nuts…" Mizu mutters, closing her eyes. "I can feel him increasing the heat of the fire outside the sphere even further, how much hotter can he make the fire?"

I shrug.

"I can't see him through the fire and the ice." I tell her. "I can only say that the hotter the flame produced by the technique, the greater the demand on the user's chakra." I explain. "That's why I can only use the Amaterasu twice when I'm fully rested." I tell her.

"Amaterasu?" She asks her tone one of curiosity.

_Oh yeah, I never told her the name of the technique before I used it, I never told anyone what it was, because I really didn't want to have to use it during the exams. It was my trump card of trump cards, my last resort…_

"It's the name of the black flame that I hit you with." I tell her.

"Oh…" She says, barely moving her head in a nod, her eyes still closed.

I hang there, beginning to feel the air get foggy with the cold, as if the air itself is threatening to ice up and the inside of the sphere begin to freeze…

_If this keeps up, I'll end up having frost bite by the time this fight is over…_

I stare through the ice with my Sharingan for another minute and a half before I see the trail of fire end, and the flames stop licking at the outside of the sphere. I see Akira standing there, his hands at his sides with his mouth closed, glaring at the sphere.

I can read his lips as he realizes what he's looking at.

"You've got to be kidding me." I see more then hear him say, and I grin quietly at this.

Mizu opens her eyes, and she sees the exterior of the sphere and the flames dying, raising the temperature of the water around us and melting the ice on her own back into water, turning the sphere back into water, and a moment later, splitting the sphere behind us and then using the water like a giant whip, sending it toward Akira with such speed that my Sharingan can barely track it…

_If I can barely follow, then he won't even know what hit him._

I feel the air get warmer as the outside air is mixed with the released air from within the sphere as the sphere vanishes, and I see the whip whack Akira in his left side, sweeping him toward the wall. I watch as his body impacts the wall, and I curse, whispering in her ear.

"Behind us." I mutter.

Quickly, a small portion of her water comes back and forms a wall behind us, milliseconds before 3 kunai hit it, the water stopping the three knives, and Mizu turns around.

"So, you used a replacement jutsu at the last minute to avoid the brunt of the damage, eh?" She asks, already knowing where he is as she turns, seeing him standing there, a bewildered expression on his face.

_This girl, to have fought with me and taken the Amaterasu after everything else I did, and be able to walk less then five minutes afterward, and still able to do all this, and not even look or feel winded! Her level is far more then any Genin I've seen, and she's much stronger then I am. The fact that she isn't already at least a Jounin amazes me. It's unreal how a girl like this could remain hidden within a village for so long, and not cause any sort of commotion or stir, and have all the information about her kept secret…_

"You are an annoying child, girl." He utters in contempt. "If it weren't for you, I would've killed that boy and been on merry little way, but now, I've exhausted so much chakra, and accomplished nothing." He growls. "It's infuriating."

I see Mizu grin.

"If you're so low on chakra, why don't you just stand still, and take what's coming to you!"

A stream of water shoots for him, and I see him dodge to the side, she then swings the same stream down and to the right in an attempt to sweep his legs out from under him. I watch as he hops up to avoid the whip like stream, and at that moment, her fingers interlace again and again, quickly forming hand signs.

"Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!" She shouts.

A second stream shoots forward, this one moving much quicker then any of the other ones I've seen. My eyes are barely able to follow it, and I see the water hit him and then form a sphere around him, trapping him within as she maintains a simple hand sign, the only thing keeping her chakra in place…

_Looks like she's starting to get weak, if she were at full strength, I doubt she'd have to maintain that sign to maintain the prison, but because she's exhausted so much chakra, it's probably taking everything she has just to keep her water from being absorbed into the ground, and also keeping that sphere in place…_

"What the?" He demands, his voice distorted as he speaks through the sphere. "You're kidding me!" He demands, mumbling something to himself, and as I read his lips, I can see that it was a vulgar word…

"What now?" She asks. "You're trapped in my sphere, and you've already said you've exhausted a good amount of your chakra." She continues. "So, why don't you call your four subordinates who are maintaining that barrier jutsu to you?"

He grins from within the sphere.

"I don't think so." He tells me. "While it's true, I have used some of my chakra fighting you, I still have more then enough to free myself from this prison!"

"He's…" I open my mouth to warn her, but I can't get the words out before it happens.

He releases a large burst of chakra from nearly every part of his body, and the result is nearly instant. Mizu's chakra is overextended, not only in terms of distance but also because she's been using it so much. I can tell that fatigue has begun to take its toll, and I see her chakra buckle under the outward pressure his is putting on hers, and I see her prison break, the water exploding from inside out and blowing the sphere open. I watch as the sphere falls back to the ground and he leaps forward, away from us and going into a roll, coming up on a single knee.

His shattering the sphere forces her to break the hand sign, and I hear her breathe heavily for the first time, her breathing quick and hurried, sweat forming on her exposed arms and face, her arms hanging at her sides for the first time since I've seen her, not crossed in front of her chest. Her face no longer holds a cocky grin, but an expression of fatigue, her mouth half open, her back arching forward under my weight…

"Mizu?" I ask, and she stands up straight, suddenly able to support my weight again.

"I'm fine." She says, crossing her arms, though I can tell she's lying.

Her eyes are fixated on the leader of the Yamikage as he stares at her with a sadistic grin on his face.

"So, the monster has her limits after all." He smiles. "It would seem that water prison was your last chance at stopping me." He tells us. "And now, I understand how you've been able to intercept everything I've thrown at you."

_Oh hell…_

"I had heard there was a young Uchiha living within Konoha, but I just assumed it to be nothing more then mere rumor, started by someone looking to kick up dust and cause trouble, but after my fight with you in the forest, I realize that it's a fact, you are the heir to the cursed clan of Konoha." He states, looking at me.

I only shake my head in response.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I tell him. "My name is Sasaki, NOT Uchiha." I respond.

He grins.

"Whatever, either way, it doesn't change the fact that I can see just what you two have been doing, and it stops now." He tells us.

"What have we been doing?" Mizu asks, trying to buy time.

He grins.

"You've been using that boy to be your eyes." He says. "You control the water around you, it doesn't move on its own, so you have to move it by your will." He continues. "My movements are too fast for your eyes to follow at your current level, but your friend there, his Sharingan is apparently developed enough that he can follow my movements, and predict them to some degree." He continues.

_Well, I guess you don't get to be the leader of a group of rogue ninja for nothing. He's smart enough to see through our little game, and he even knows enough about my Sharingan to know that I've been using it to predict his movements…_

I sit there, my arms holding me on Mizu's body as he smiles.

"What makes you think you're going to be able to stop us from continuing with our little ploy?" She asks.

He grins, making a single hand sign, extending his middle and pointer fingers, and crossing them…

_Oh shit…_

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He yells.

I see clones begin to appear out of thin air, and I see his chakra being divided between the clones, and when he's done, there are 45 clones standing there, all of them grinning, and all of them mirror images of each other, and I can tell which ones are clones, and which one is real, but at this point, that doesn't really matter…

"Oh crap…" I hear Mizu mutter. "With just those…"

I nod.

"I can follow the clones, but maintaining the use of my Sharingan is consuming what little chakra I have left." I explain. "And you aren't much better now." I whisper.

She exhales lightly, staring at him.

_That jutsu consumes a lot of chakra to use, which means that he's had to use a lot of chakra to use it. If we could just somehow whether this jutsu, then we'd be okay…_

_I might have an idea…_

"Mizu, do you have enough chakra left to manipulate water just slightly?" She asks.

"What's your plan?" She asks.

I murmur my plan in her ear.

"Planning something?" The clones ask. "I don't think so!"

The clones charge and I hop off of her, landing on my feet and I move around her, and I use the Sharingan's ability to copy a jutsu, and use it as my own…

"Water Release: Water Wall!" I yell, slamming my hands into the ground.

The water that is imbued with Mizu's chakra is a convenient source, and it's only with her help that I manage to make the jutsu work, turning my Sharingan off at the last possible moment to free up every last bit of chakra as the wall comes up, extending from one end of the arena to the other…

"What?" I hear one clone ask.

"Now!" I shout.

Mizu concentrates, focusing the last of her remaining chakra into the water, and I see her exert herself, shooting spikes of ice out from the wall, and impaling the clones on the spikes, and the real one is the only one who manages to get away from the attack, and I swear as the wall falls and the water hits the ground, not actually absorbing into the ground, due to large amount of chakra that's been imbued into it. I watch as he gets up, and I hear him growl, seeing a look of pure hatred come to his eyes…

"Why…" He begins, making hand signs.

_Oh crap. He's going to use another jutsu, and that last bit blew the last bits of chakra that Mizu and I had, we're basically running on empty, both of us on the verge of collapse…_

"Why won't you die?" He yells.

He finishes the last sign, and I see him raise a hand in front of his face, making a circle with his fingers…

"Oh crap…"

He releases a breath through his fingers, and I close my eyes, knowing that the end is coming…

_At least I'll die as myself, and not with that demon controlling me…_

I hear the fire burn, and then I hear a strange sound, like sand flowing across a plate…

I hear the sound of the fire hitting something, and I don't feel the heat from the flame anymore, and I open my eyes to see a wall of brown course material directly in front of me, less then 6 inches away from me.

"Is that…" I mutter.

I reach out for the material and I feel it, and I recognize what it is the wall is made of.

_Sand?_

I look left and right, and I see an older man, wearing the white robe of a Kage approach, the blue symbol for wind on the hat, and he takes it off, throwing it sideways, revealing short red hair, with a red tattoo above his left eye, and no eyebrows on his face. His eyes show compassion, and at the same time, a strength behind the green balls within his face. Beneath the open white robe, I see a red outfit with a light gray vest that has a minor cape behind him. I see a large brown gourd on his back, protruding from under the white robe…

_That's the Fifth Kazekage!_

I look up to the platform where the purple barrier once stood, and I see that the barrier is gone, the four ninja who maintained it missing, and considering the fact that one of the three Kage involved at the exams stands no less then 10 feet from me, I know that somehow, someone managed to break the barrier and release the three ninja leaders. I take a moment to look around the arena, and I see the Sixth Hokage, having removed his white robe and hat, is going through the Waterfall ninja opponents like a hot knife through butter, his shadow clones increasing the damage he does, and I see the Mizukage, standing there, with 10 enemy ninja trapped with a large ball of water…

_So, this is the power of a Kage, one of the five leaders of the great hidden villages?_

The Kazekage approaches us, and I see the sand wall recede, going back to him, as more sand falls from his gourd and moves with him, forming a circle around him with enough space to walk in, and following his movements as he walks.

"He's…" Mizu begins, and I barely hear the next part. "Like me…"

I nod to myself, seeing the Kazekage cross his arms.

"You who threaten these Genin, I don't know who you are, but your allies threaten Genin from my village and from two other villages." The Kazekage says simply. "That will not be allowed." He says simply. "Surrender, or fight me."

The Kazekage gives his ultimatum, and I look at Akira, the leader of the group whose name translates to the 'Dark Shadow' which would indicate that their power should exceed that of the red haired man he now faces.

I look back to the man who 2 minutes ago was ready to kill me, and I see his face contort, his expression one of both dismay and surprise. He wasn't expecting, or rather, was hoping that this man and the other two like him would be unable to get free before his task could be completed, and with Mizu's assistance, my survival and the fight we were just engaged in, prevented him from personally seeing to the rest of his duties…

"Well?" The Kazekage asks; awaiting a response with his arms crossed.

The man has an imposing presence, even without the knowledge that he can manipulate the sand that surrounds him…

A single ninja appears next to Akira, a simple foot soldier, and he appears behind the man, the Kazekage not showing a hint of surprise at the new arrival.

"Lord Kentarou…." The ninja begins. "We've lost contact with all of our operatives outside the arena, sir." He says, reporting bad news. "It would also seem that a large amount of Shinobi is headed this way, estimates report all members are at least Chunin level, sir." He continues. "Our forces within the arena are also reporting heavy losses."

Akira Kentarou, the leader of the Yamikage, a group of shinobi who are loyal to no village, growls something under his breath.

"Sir?" The grunt ninja asks.

"We're retreating." He says simply. "Have all of our forces get out of here, immediately." He pauses, and then glares at me. "Four years…" He says simply.

I raise my eyebrows.

"Four years?" I ask.

"I'll be coming for you again in four years." He tells me. "Until then, don't die." He says simply, not finishing the sentence.

_So I can kill you…_

I see the Kazekage's stance change.

"You will not be allowed to leave." He says simply.

The grunt leaps away, and I see Akira leap as well, trying to get away from the Ninja leader standing there. I see the Kazekage give chase, sending his sand after Akira like a snake chasing its prey. I watch as he looks back, and he sees the sand pursuing him. He makes quick hand signs.

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Missile!"

He launches a projectile from his mouth, and I see the dragon shaped flame fly toward his sand, and I watch as his sand hits the flaming dragon, and in moments, the fire is gone, but I see something else come from the middle of the fire…

_Exploding tags…_

I put my hands over my head as I realize Akira put explosives inside the flaming attack, and I see the multiple tags explode in flash of light and noise, the explosion rocking my ears, and I can feel the light on me for a moment, and then the sound becomes nearly mute, and the heat from the explosion gone. I look around to see a large shell of sand has enclosed myself, the Kazekage, and Mizu, protecting us from both the noise, but also any shrapnel or heat that may come from the explosion.

The red haired man turns slowly, eyeing each of us in turn.

"Are you two all right?" His voice hardly one of compassion, but more of emotionless seriousness.

The tone sends a shiver down my spine, and I nod, the major emotion I feel for this man being fear.

I hear Mizu speak her agreement.

"I'm fine." She says.

He nods, a moment later the sand dome disappears, the sand returning to his gourd as he recalls it, and I see him look up to see both the Mizukage and the Hokage standing there, the opposing force gone, and I manage to stand up straight, looking at the Kazekage.

"Um, excuse me." I begin. "But, how is it did you and the other Kage get free?" I ask as politely as I can.

His face seems locked in a cold expression, unflinching and unemotional.

"A girl your age attacked one of the four barrier ninja." He explains. "She had dark hair, and strange eyes, with the veins bulging in them."

_Himeko, she didn't go for help, she attempted to rescue the Kage instead. But, if she freed them, then how is it that a force of Shinobi was coming here to the arena, and how were the operatives in the village stopped?_

"What happened to her, is she all right?"

He nods simply.

"She was uninjured during her rescue attempt, and after she freed us, she dealt with the many enemy foot soldiers that attempted to attack her after she brought down the barrier." He pauses. "The Hokage and his shadow clones took care of the other three barrier ninja, while the Mizukage and I entered the battle." He continues. "I came to assist you, at the request of the girl who broke the barrier."

With that statement, I confirm that it is in fact Himeko that brought the barrier down, but the fact still remains that I have no idea how anything with reinforcements from outside the arena came into play…

Before I know it, Himeko, Ishikawa and Chisato are on the arena floor and walking toward me, while Mizu has taken her leave of me to find her teammates, apparently both of them are members of her extended family, and she's concerned for their safety. The Kazekage takes his leave as well, his concern for his village's representatives as well as the Jounin who accompanied him, but were not guarding him at the time of the attack…

_Everyone's got their own concerns here, and I guess this means that the exams are over…_

I look around the arena, and I see the scars of battle are evident throughout the bleachers. The crowd panicked when the attack began, and they probably swarmed to leave the arena, for fear that something was going to hurt them. I see parts of walls are blown open, an entire section of seats completely missing, the jagged and uneven edges indicating that it was blown out of existence. I see kunai are littered about everywhere, some bodies riddled with them, others stabbed into pillars and seats…

_The place is a mess, completely a mess, there are bodies lying about everywhere, with kunai and other damage everywhere. _

"You okay, Tsuzaku?" I hear Ishikawa ask.

I nod.

"I'm fine sensei; my chakra's just running really low." I admit. "What about you, Himeko and Chisato?" I ask. "Any injuries?"

The two girls shake their heads, and Ishikawa grins.

"I think of all of us, you were the one who fought the strongest opponent, so I wouldn't worry about these two." He tells me. "Although, you all acted bravely and courageously in the face of danger, and it's with your help, that we were able to fight off this attack."

I shake my head.

"Himeko did much more then I did." I explain. "If she hadn't freed the Kage from that prison, that man would've killed both Mizu and I, and that would've been the end for us."

Ishikawa shakes his head.

"It was your fight against the Yamikage leader that bought Himeko the time she needed to free the Kage, and your fight also bought enough time for the reinforcements summoned by Lord Hokage to arrive."

I raise my eyebrows.

"Lord Hokage summoned them, how?" I ask.

He points toward his right ear.

"Lord Hokage was wearing a transmitter in his ear when the attack happened, and he used it to radio for reinforcements, and told the reinforcements of the situation as it happened, and because their leader was so preoccupied, he couldn't turn his attention to the other tasks that needed his attention, such as his minions planting exploding tags around the village, and the attempts on Chisato and Himeko's lives…"

I shrug.

"Either way, I should probably see a medic, just to make sure I'm all right."

Ishikawa nods.

Five hours later, after everyone has gotten a chance go get checked out, and then cleaned up, I find myself in the office of the Hokage, the village leader sitting behind his desk. I stand there with my right arm covered in bandages, and the Hokage looks at each of the us in turn, the four of us standing next to each other, Ishikawa standing next to me…

I see him turn in the chair, looking out the large windows behind him, a somber air filling the room.

"Considering all that happened, I would say that we weathered this attack fairly well." He states.

"It could have been worse, much worse." Ishikawa points out.

The Sixth nods solemnly.

"And while funeral arrangements for the fallen must be made, another matter has recently come to my attention, that matter is the reason I've called you here now." He explains.

"What matter would that be, Lord Hokage?" Ishikawa asks.

I see his hand touch a manila colored folder on his desk, and he opens it, rotating the folder on his desk, I assume, so that Ishikawa and the rest of us can read it.

_It's a report, probably from an ANBU squad…_

The report's contents cause me to raise my eyebrows.

"Lord Hokage…" I begin.

"I know." He says, waving his hand. "The major concern that I'm faced with is what should I do with this information?" He asks, nearly rhetorically.

"Send ninja." I respond simply. "With seek and destroy orders."

He nods.

"That would be the course of action they're expecting." He responds. "To send several groups of ANBU with orders to kill everything that moves." He explains. "Which is why, I'm not going to do that."

I nearly feel like I've been punched in the chest.

"Why, Lord Hokage?" I ask. "Why not dispatch troops?"

He gains a solemn, almost grim expression.

"Right now, the security and safety of everyone in this village is my top priority." He explains. "And members of ANBU are the best ninja I have; I can't afford to send them on what could possibly be a wild goose chase."

I clench my fist hard, feeling the pain of burns shoot from my hand through my arm.

"Then send us." I respond simply. "We've had the same amount of time to recover as they have, and Sensei didn't really exert himself during the attack, so we're already one up on them."

"Just the four of you, against a force that could outnumber you 10 to 1?" The Hokage asks.

I nod.

"If we're really that badly outnumbered, we'll pull back and wait for reinforcements, if not, and then we'll take out everyone we can, while staying alive as long as possible."

He looks us over.

"I have no real qualms about your sensei, or the Hyuga clan heir, but yourself and Shiriyuki both nearly exhausted your chakra only 5 hours ago, do you feel as though it's smart of you to engage in combat so quickly?"

I look to Chisato, and she nods once, and then I turn back to the Sixth.

"I've never felt stronger about anything in all my life."

The Sixth Hokage, leader of the ninja in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, looks to Ishikawa, and gives him a deadly serious expression.

"What about you, do you believe your students can handle this?"

I see the older man grin.

"They aren't my students anymore, at least, as far as I'm concerned." He says simply. "They've all matured since I first met them, and I believe they're all Chunin caliber shinobi." He responds with almost no emotion in his voice, other then a small, almost invisible smile of pride.

I see the Hokage look at us in turn, and I look at Ishikawa with a look of disbelief.

_He's never said anything even remotely like that about us before, so I guess he must mean it…_

"Is that so?" The Hokage finally responds after a long minute. "I guess then, I only have one thing to say…" He pauses. "Get suited up and ready, you'll leave as soon as you're ready." He tells us, and I feel a smile come to my face. "Your primary mission is to locate and observe, if the enemy numbers are too great for you to handle, call for backup. If the enemy forces are small in number, you're to eliminate with extreme prejudice." He pauses. "If you can, try to leave one of them alive."

The four of us nod, and we leave the room, the four of us looking at each other.

"We'll meet back here in fifteen minutes." Ishikawa says, and the three of us nod our agreements.

We all take off in separate directions, with Himeko and I heading back to her home, while Chisato and Ishikawa head their separate ways. Both Himeko and I run quickly, making it back to her home in five minutes, giving us five minutes to do what we have to. I head to her weapon's room, knowing that I need to get as many weapons and items that I can, filling my newly reclaimed pouch, and the small bag on my back. I see her grab something from one of the shelves, and then she pockets it.

"What was that?" I ask as I finish grabbing the weapons I need.

She grins.

"It's something I was working on during the last month." She explains. "I didn't want to use it during the exam because I was afraid that if I did use it, I'd kill my opponent."

I smile.

"That's a good thing." I tell her. "We're going to need everything we've got this time around."

The two of us leave the room, and we head for the door, managing to get by without running into any of her family as we leave the mansion, and take off for the Ninja headquarters.

I check my watch, seeing that we've still got a good 6 minutes before we're supposed to return to the meeting point. We move quickly, and I see Ishikawa standing outside the building, and we both meet him where he stands.

"Opted to stay outside this time?" I ask as we approach him.

He nods.

"Better to be prepared, why go inside needlessly?" He asks.

A moment later, Chisato appears next to us, an emotionless expression on her face.

"Shall we get going?" She asks.

The three of us nod, and Ishikawa grins.

"Those Yamikage bastards aren't going to know what hit them." He says simply.

Soon enough, I'm prepared to back his statement up. The four of us remain hidden in the bushes around the clearing. Within the clearing, there are nearly 20 ninja in various positions all around the clearing, and I can tell that some of them are in worse shape then others…

"Tsuzaku…" I hear a voice whisper in my ear. "Are you position?"

I nod.

"Yes." I whisper quietly, just loud enough for the transmitter to pick up.

Ishikawa goes through the same procedure with Himeko and Chisato, and then I hear the signal, and our attack commences.

I let fly with 5 kunai, the exploding tags trailing behind the knives. I watch as my five knives stab into 5 separate ninja, and I clasp my hands together, making a sign, and setting the tags off all at once.

The tags explode, roaring to life like a guttural roar, the explosions consuming the bodies of the five soldiers, and the other soldiers around them are blown back by the force of the explosion, the remains of the human bodies flying around as more knives fly from other directions, like bullets from a sniper's rife, striking their targets with unerring accuracy…

I see kunai fly toward me, and I leap from the bushes, and I hear a man's voice come into my ears…

"You, again, are you some sort of curse that was put on me?" I hear a familiar voice.

I look in the direction of the voice to see the Akira Kentarou, the leader of the Yamikage, and the man I fought only five hours ago, standing there.

I land on my feet, and I reach for my backpack, withdrawing an item from it, a scroll that I stuffed in there during my training, and forgot about during the exams…

"So, you decided to come to me now and meet your fate?" He asks. "You were lucky; you could've gotten a four year reprieve, but you chose to die now!"

I open the scroll, and I start saying the names on the Japanese zodiac, reading the scroll…

"What good is that going to do you?" He demands.

He starts making hand signs, and I say the last word on the scroll, winding it up again and clasping my hands together in a simple sign, letting the scroll rest on my thumbs against the back of my pointer fingers.

"Earth Release: Nature's Prison Jutsu!" I shout.

I slam the scroll into the ground, and I funnel chakra into it, feeling the words on the scroll come to life, the scroll using my chakra to move the earth, and I focus the attack, targeting my prey.

Walls of Earth shoot up around him, jutting up and out of the ground six feet into the air, leaving the top open as I withdraw a kunai from my pouch, making sure a tag is tied to loop on the end.

The leader of the Yamikage leaps up, and I throw the knife, my aim accurate as the blade hits its mark, and the tag detonates, exploding in a ball of smoke.

_Did I get him?_

I don't have time to think, as I feel a blade pressed against my throat.

"It's obvious to me that you haven't physically recovered from our last fight, so why would you bother coming after me and my men, knowing that I had more strength after our last fight ended?"

I grin.

"Because I know you're the kind of idiot to fall for a simple trick." I respond.

The shadow clone bursts into a cloud of smoke, and he swears, my true self leaping from the trees and driving a kunai into his kidneys. He groans in pain, his own blade still in his right arm.

"When did you?" He mutters, and I smile.

"Right after I threw the kunai, I'd figured there was no way a simple trick was going to catch you, so I made a quick shadow clone and hid my real self." I explain. "Though it did cost me a nice chunk of the chakra I had left, it was worth it, to strike the killing blow against you."

He grins, and I hear him laugh.

"Just who do you think you have?" He asks, and I see a puff of smoke cover his face and I look on as I see a new face replace the face of the Yamikage's leader…

_Shit, that figures, this was never the real Akira from the start. He had a low level ninja use a transformation jutsu and replace him, that way if any ninja came after them, they'd stay here trying to kill him, while his lackey buys the true Akira even more time to escape, clever trick…_

And one, that I admit to myself, I don't have an answer for, swearing under my breath as I look around at the carnage around me.

I see bodies lying lifeless everywhere, most of the fighting already finished, the element of surprise working in our favor…

"Looks like we didn't get any of their stronger members…" Ishikawa says simply. "Any one other then a bunch of simple foot soldiers would've been prepared for an attack as long as they were this close to our village; I doubt we'd have gotten any usual information out of any of them."

I nod, looking down at the now lifeless body in front of me, realizing that the man must've taken a suicide pill, which seems to be a standard practice for members of the Yamikage…

_What better way to deny your opponent knowledge about your organization then to make them all carry suicide pills and train them to take them?_

I shake my head, the feeling of frustration not the only feeling running through my mind.

_We wasted our time here and what's worse, we wasted supplies that could've gone to better use, and what's worse, we fell right into a simple diversion that he had planned all along…_

"So, I take it that wasn't their leader?" Chisato asks, and I nod, looking down at the unrecognized face.

"It was a low level ninja masquerading as him." I explain. "I couldn't see through it because I wasn't using my Sharingan to conserve chakra, so we wound up wasting our time, killing 20 simple enemy soldiers when we were gunning for their leader."

"Could've been worse…" Ishikawa pauses. "At least the four of us came out okay."

I nod.

"I guess you're right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

He sighs.

"Well, if we're done here, I suggest we head back, there's nothing to be gained by staying here."

After nearly two hours of walking, the four of us return to the village. It's gotten dark, and as we enter the village, a guard eyes us, and then looks away, his gaze a quick question, answered by our appearance.

We'd all walked back in silence, the failure of our mission seemingly hanging over us…

_I still haven't told anyone about what he said to me, the fact that he was willing to wait four years…_

"Tsuzaku, you worried about something?" I hear Ishikawa's voice, and I swear to myself.

_Damn, why the hell am I so easy to read, they all seem to know almost instantly when I'm thinking about something that I don't want to talk about…_

"No." I say lying. "I was just thinking about the leader of the Yamikage." Not telling a full lie. "What he was trying to accomplish by attacking our village, and where he might gain as much support as he had."

Our sensei shrugs.

"There are many men and women in this world who lose hope for the future." He responds. "Men like this Akira seem to have a knack to find them, and turn them to their own cause."

I sigh lightly, thinking about the people we'd fought…

"How could someone just blindly follow someone else without a second thought like that?" I ask, not fathoming that kind of loyalty.

"Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do." Ishikawa tells me. "Sometimes, even the strongest people need to find a cause in life."

I put my hands in my pockets, looking up at the sky.

"I guess…" I mutter, not really knowing how to respond to that, my thoughts drifting back to the subject that started the conversation.

_Four years, that's a long time, a really long time. I guess he's going to try and build up his forces, to regain the strength he lost during this attack and then gain even more…_

_But why though, revenge is too simple and too easily thought through for that to be the reason? There must be another reason, he must have some sort of grudge against this village, or maybe he still desires a war to break out, to try and bring the hidden leaf and hidden mist against each other, and use his own ninja as 'protection' forces for the poorer areas. I guess greed is a reason to wait four years. After all, if you told me if I had to do four years work, and then I was going to be extremely rich after I was done, I think I'd go for it. _

"Well, this is where I say good night." Chisato says stopping, the three of us doing so as well.

"Good night." I say simply.

Ishikawa nods; and Himeko does so as well.

"I think I'll head back from here too." He says, moving away from Himeko and me, and behind Chisato. "We'll meet tomorrow morning in front of the Ninja headquarters." He explains.

Both Himeko and I nod, and the two of them start off.

"See you both in the morning." He says.

We both wave as the two of them leave, and I turn back toward the Hyuga girl.

"Shall we go?" I ask, and she nods.

"Yes, let's head home."

_Home…_

The word echoes in my head as the two of us return to the Hyuga mansion. As I walk inside, and I slip off my shoes…

_I've never thought of this place as my home, only as a place to sleep and live. This place belongs to Himeko's family, her family, and the people like her. I'm merely a border, a free loader living here on the charity of the clan leader, and nothing more…_

"Tsuzaku, aren't you going to your room?" I hear her voice, startling me out of my thoughts.

I nod.

"Yes, in a minute." I tell her. "Go on ahead, and sleep well."

She nods.

"I will, make sure you do the same."

With that, the girl walks away down the hall, and I stand there. As she disappears around a corner, I sigh heavily.

"You don't have to say anything, I know." I say simply, glancing toward the darkness of one of the open rooms, a figure cloaked in shadow and hardly visible inside.

I walk past the room, and I don't head for my room, instead I head out into the courtyard, looking up at the night sky…

_I don't know why, but I just want to be alone…_

I feel the gentle grass beneath my feet, and I look up at the sky, seeing the stars gently twinkling in the sky, and I smile at the beauty of it all.

_The stars always seem to relax me, and even know, looking up at these stars, the perpetual veil of confusion and doubt that seems to fill my mind has lifted, and I think clearly for the first time in a long time…_

_He said he was going to give me a four year reprieve, I don't know if he means it quite literally or if he was just trying to confuse me, but I do know that he didn't look like he was lying. I honestly believe that he's not going to come after me or this village for 4 long years, so that means I have just under that long to improve, to get stronger, smarter, faster, and all together a better Shinobi…_

_And I can't do that here. As long as I live within this village, I'll never be able to train like I did during the month before the exams. I need to be able to try to master the Amaterasu and the other jutsu I know, and I need to gain power over that strange version of the Sharingan that the demon seems to use whenever he manages to take control from me…_

"Mangekyo…" I mutter, and I hear footsteps behind me.

I spin around to see Hinata Hyuga standing there, a gentle smile on her face as she stands in the doorway, dressed in a light white robe.

"Thinking about something important?" She asks.

"L-Lady Hinata…" I trail off.

She shakes her head.

"Please, don't refer to me like that." She tells me. "Just call me Hinata."

I shake my head.

"You're the leader of the Hyuga clan and head of the family, you're the reason I'm here and you're letting me stay here with your charity, the least I can do is refer to you with proper respect."

She sighs.

"If you insist…" She pauses. "Either way, what were you thinking about just now?"

"Nothing…" I respond, looking up at the sky. "I was just admiring the stars, nothing else."

"Oh really?" She asks her tone one of innocence.

I nod, looking at her.

"Why would I be thinking about anything important?" I ask.

She shrugs.

"Most people who are up this late and staring at the stars are usually thinking about something important because they can't sleep."

I shake my head, not realizing that I'm glaring at her.

"I just felt like looking up at the stars." I tell her. "When I was training during the last month, I slept under the stars, so I wanted to take one look at them before I went to sleep tonight."

"Okay…" She responds, as if giving up on the line of questioning. "If you ever need to talk about anything, my door is open."

I nod.

"Thank you, Lady Hinata, but I assure you, there's nothing wrong." I say simply, precisely.

"All right then." She turns around, walking back inside. "Growing boys need their sleep, so please go to bed before it gets too late?"

I nod again.

"I will, Lady Hinata."

She disappears around the corner, and I hear a light sigh of frustration escape her lips, and I wait there, for a long few minutes, more so waiting for her to get back to her room, and if she hasn't, to tell her that I don't habitually talk to myself…

_Why is it so easy to lie to them? I shouldn't have kept this information from either Lord Hokage or Himeko or anyone else, and yet I didn't say anything…_

I shake my head, clearing it.

_Either way, I should tell them tomorrow, I'll go see Lord Hokage directly!_

I nod, more so for my own self assurance then in agreement.

I walk back into the home, and I find my way into my own room, closing the door behind me, I nearly fall into the bed of sheer exhaustion, the day's events having left me nearly drained…

_Well, at least the exam was early enough that we could attempt a counter attack in the afternoon. The problem with it all was that the information we had was for a decoy group of people, and the real leader of the group is probably long gone by now…_

I fall asleep on top of the blankets, my head resting on the pillow.

I open my eyes rather calmly, and I sit up, seeing sunlight come in the single window of the room, and I yawn, stretching my arms, and then I glance at my watch…

_What time is it?_

It's early, only 2 hours after sunrise, and I think to when I fell asleep the night before, it had been late, easily 10 or 11 at night, and waking up at 5 am, I look down at the pillow again, and then I shake my head.

_Can't go back to sleep, too much to do, and not a lot of time to do it…_

I get up and I walk into the small bathroom connected to the bedroom. While there is a giant bathroom within the home, each bedroom has a smaller bath attached to it, the main bathroom more for baths in the late evening, while the small bathrooms are designed for early morning showers and such of that nature…

I go inside, and I see the salve laying on the table that Himeko gave me earlier, a combination of medicinal herbs her mother has been working on as a hobby for some time now, apparently. I shrug as I grab at the top of the bandages on my right arm and I remove them slowly, pulling them away from the damaged skin, and I look down at the arm, the memory of the event that caused the damage flooding back…

_I was training to master that Amaterasu jutsu, and the first time I managed to successfully focus my chakra and activate the jutsu…_

The flame had been too hot for me to handle, and I wasn't prepared for it properly. The fire had only sparked for a mere moment, but in that moment, it shot up my arm and nearly got to my shoulder before it burned itself out…

_Even now, the flame doesn't continue to burn after I use the technique, is it because I don't have the Mangekyo Sharingan? Either way, it's a good thing it doesn't keep burning; otherwise I wouldn't have my right arm now…_

I use my uninjured left arm to take my clothes off, and I step into the shower, my ninja headband resting on the side of the sink, against the wall and away from the bowel…

The bathroom is designed easily enough, there's a small sink with a mirror above it against the wall, and then to the left of that is the bathtub and shower stall. That connects to the left side wall, and there isn't much else in the small room, a small portable towel rack next to shower and maybe 5 feet of space from the outer edge of the tub to the wall the door is in…

I turn the controls, bringing the water on, and I adjust the temperature, making sure it's warm as the water hits my burned arm, and I feel the pain coming from the sore skin, and I winch at it.

_No matter how fast I heal, there's no way I can go long without cleaning the burns on my arm, otherwise it could get infected, and then they'd have to amputate…_

The thought of losing my right arm sends a shiver down my spine, and I shake my head, grabbing for some shampoo, I go to work on cleaning my body, using my left hand for the majority of the work, using my right arm only when two arms are required, or when I clean my left arm…

I finish quickly, making sure to soap up my right arm twice and I rinse it carefully, checking the burns to make sure none of them are infected or peeling, and then I shut the water off, getting out of the shower onto the mat, and grabbing two towels from the small towel rack next to the shower. I use one to gently dry my right arm off, and then I work on the rest of my body with the other. After I'm satisfied with my towel drying, I go to the sink immediately, grabbing some bandages I left out on the sink and setting them close, then, using my left hand, I open the small bottle of salve and then apply it to my arm, carefully using my left finger to rub the healing ointment all over my arm, and I feel the cooling effect of the medicine, and I am amazed for not the first time, how powerful the ointment is, and how long it must've taken to get the mixture of wild herbs exactly right to get such a potent effect…

_Something like this would take years of work, especially only as a hobby, so why would she…_

I blink the thoughts away, holding my arm out level with my shoulder, letting the ointment soak into the skin and dry somewhat before I apply the bandages.

_Last thing I need is for the bandages to soak up the ointment before it can get into the skin; that would just do a world of good…_

I stand there for a good five minutes, and then I go to work wrapping my arm in the medical bandages, tying them off near my shoulder when I finish, making sure they're tight and secure as I close and open my fist…

_Not bad for an amateur if I do say so myself…_

Now that my right arm is taken care of, I start drying myself off, and then I use a blow dryer to dry my hair, running a comb through it to make sure it's neat, I put my headband on, tying the knot behind my head.

_I feel better now, I don't know why, but for some reason a shower like that just makes me feel better…_

I towel off as I leave the bathroom, and going into my closet, I grab a set of clothes nearly identical to the ones I was wearing, the dark purple shirt, black pants, magenta colored leg warmers, and my ninja shoes.

_Now, all I have left is the ninja tool pouch…_

I slide the pouch on my right thigh, thinking to secure it there, and then I shake my head, remembering I need to put it on my left thigh…

_I need to use my left arm for throwing things, so logically I should put the pouch on my left thigh…_

I slide the pouch off like a flamingo putting a foot through a loop, and then I repeat the motion in reverse on the opposite leg, sliding the pouch into place, and then securing it there, I smooth my shirt out as I look at the mirror within the closet.

"That should do it…" I say simply, and then I turn toward the door, walking toward it, I open the door and make my way out of the home, and I head toward the Ninja Headquarters, knowing that's where the Sixth should be…

I put my hands in my pockets, the people of the village not paying me much attention, most of them are just happy to be where they are, some are angry that their loved ones died during the raid, and others are infuriated that none of the leadership of the group responsible was caught…

_I'm a member of the latter…_

I make my way into the building and up several floors before I come to the Hokage's private office. It was still early, and ninja missions aren't handed out until roughly 9 am, and with more then an hour before that, the Hokage would most likely be here, rather then in the briefing room…

I knock on the door three times, and then I turn the knob, seeing its open I stick my head inside.

"Lord Hokage…" I mutter, seeing the Sixth sitting behind his desk, and Ishikawa standing on my side of the desk, his head slightly turned, his left eye being the only one I can see.

"Ah, Tsuzaku…" Ishikawa begins. "What a rarity to find you here, so early in the morning." He pauses. "What business do you have with Lord Hokage at this hour?"

I ignore his half gaze, looking instead toward the Village leader.

"Lord Hokage, I have information that may be vital to the survival of the village…" I begin, and I see the Hokage wave his hand.

"If it's about the 4 year grace period that Akira guy told you he'd give you, you don't need to notify me." He tells me. "I've known since before you left yesterday…"

At first, I think that one of his clones was listening to conversation, and my own thought is to ask.

"How…" I mutter. "He only told me, Mizu, and the Kazekage."

The Sixth grins again.

"The Fifth Kazekage and I are old friends, he told me after they retreated, said I might want to know, and that he was going to do me a favor and tell the Mizukage as well."

I nod, suddenly feeling very stupid for thinking that there wasn't any way the leader of the village couldn't have known. The Village Hidden in the Sand and the Village Hidden in the Leaves, along with the Mist, are all allies within the Alliance Treaty; that means that any information which concerns more then one of the villages should be shared within them all…

_But this doesn't concern the Sand or the Mist, in reality they're going to come here first, to try and take revenge on the village that stopped them from making a successful Coup de tat…_

"But, this only concerns our village." I argue. "They aren't going to attack the Sand or the Mist, they're going to come here, because they want to destroy the village that stopped them from taking over the Waterfall, they have nothing against the other villages."

He raises an eyebrow.

"And what do you think he's going to do over the next four years?" He asks. "Do you think he's going to sit on his laurels while our village no doubt prepares for what's coming?" He pauses. "He's going to go to other sources of both manpower and weapons, and he's going to have to do that in one of the other four great villages, or else he'll never manage to gain the manpower he needs to destroy our village."

I sigh, feeling beaten.

"Well, there is one other thing I wanted to discuss with you, and it concerns the four year grace period."

"And what's that?" He asks.

"I respectfully ask to be allowed to leave the village." I say simply.

He gives me a sideways look.

"Some attempt at self sacrifice?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"I need to train, and the kind of training I need cannot happen while I'm living in this village." I explain. "To make the most out of the time available, I have to rely on my skills not only in combat, but to survive." I explain. "To push myself farther then I ever have."

"Hmmm…" Is his only verbal response, looking me over as I stand there.

"Lord Hokage, you can't believe this." Ishikawa pipes up. "What this boy needs to train under a master, someone who can show him what he's doing wrong and to correct him."

The Hokage rests his eyes on me, waiting for a counter point, as if his answer is riding on the argument I can make.

"A master would only hinder my progress and hold me back." I explain. "If I had been training under a master, I never would have learned to harness even a part of the Amaterasu as I did in a single month." I explain. "In order to get the greatest results, I have to learn to master the jutsu I already know; and to learn others that I know I'm capable of learning."

I see my sensei shift his weight; and he looks back at the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, please, I'll personally train this one, so don't agree to this outlandish request." He continues his argument. "If he leaves the village, we could very well be losing a potentially powerful weapon against the Yamikage four years from now."

"And that's exactly why I HAVE to leave." I respond, turning Ishikawa's argument against him. "If I'm not strong enough to survive on my own and against whatever assassins they send at me during these next four years, what good am I going to be when they bring the full force of their organization down on the village?"

With that, the Hokage nods affirmatively, cutting Ishikawa off.

"I can see you believe very strongly in this, and judging from your argument, your sensei also believes that doing so is an unwise decision." He points out. "Your sensei claims he can make you stronger in the next four years, do you doubt that?"

I shake my head no.

"I don't doubt that he could help me to improve, but his efforts are better focused on others, while I need to train on my own, away from the village, away from the comforts of this village."

He nods.

"I understand, and as long as you understand that no one will be sent out to watch over you, no one is going to help you if you can't find food, no one is going to help you if you get attacked in your sleep."

I nod.

"I understand completely." I respond.

With that, he waves his hand.

"You're free to leave, although I suggest you pack some provisions, four years is a long time."

I nod.

"That; and I need to say goodbye to everyone before I go."

I hear Ishikawa open his mouth to protest, but a stern glare from the Hokage silences him. He sighs in defeat, and I turn, leaving the room, and walking back to the Hyuga mansion. As I walk, my thoughts go over what I need to do, what I need to pack, and what I need to say.

_I only really need to say good bye to Himeko, but I don't know if I can say good bye to her directly, maybe a note would be better, after all, I'm not leaving forever, just for the better part of four years…_

_Four years, I don't know what's going to happen in the four years ahead, but I do know this much, I'm going to return, and when I do, I'm going to take down Akira Kentarou, and the rest of the Yamikage!_

As I leave the Hokage's office and start down the hallway, a pink haired female ninja comes running down the hall, her feet planting on the ground with force, her short pink hair just above her shoulders. She runs past me, a worried expression on her face…

_She looks like she's as old the Hokage…_

I can't help but turn and follow the girl back down the hall, and she swings into the Hokage's office, barging in like she owns the room.

"Lord Hokage!" She yells. "We've got a situation!"


	10. Chapter 10

(As you can probably tell, there's going to be a four year time skip in this fic. That occurs after one more chapter after this one, that's Chapter 12 for those of you who haven't been keeping track, and I've just started formulating that one, and I'm still tweaking 11, expect 11 in about a week or so, maybe by Saturday 2/9 if I get to it. Enjoy…)

Chapter 10: Terrorist Acts…

The older woman stands in the office, while both Ishikawa and the Hokage look at her. As I move partially around the door, I can see the woman is short of breath, and appears to have been running for some time. She wears a short mini skirt that covers above her knees and a pair of tight spandex shorts under the skirt, a red sleeveless top, with a red headband around her head like a hair band. Her eyes are green, and she wears sandals on feet like so many others.

"What is it?" The Hokage asks calmly.

"There are numerous reports of threats against various border towns in our country." She explains. "Many of them involve bomb threats and the killing of many innocent people." She finally finishes.

I raise my eyebrows…

_The Yamikage maybe, no it can't be them, we took care of the last of their members near the village yesterday, so what the hell is this?_

"Do we have any other information other then the threats?" He asks.

She shakes her head no.

"How many threats have been made?" He asks, calmly addressing the situation.

"There's one for almost every border town or village within the country." She explains. "Even on our borders with our friendly nations, they've received threats."

"Has anyone claimed to be responsible for the threats?" The Hokage asks.

The woman shakes her head.

"No, though once the attacks happen, I'm sure several groups will try to take credit for doing so much damage to us."

"Unless they're stopped…' The Hokage corrects her.

She shakes her head.

"I'm sorry to say this, but we don't have enough Chunin and Jounin after the attack on the exam grounds and the subsequent attempt on the village to try and stop these threats." She tells him. "We don't even know if they're all true threats or not." She says. "They all came in the same way, on a simple unmarked letter, no fingerprints or anything else to identify the person who wrote them."

I see the Hokage look at Ishikawa.

"You don't think the Yamikage could be responsible for this, do you?"

Ishikawa looks at me, and I see him eye me, the recent defeat I gave him with the Hokage still very fresh in his mind.

"I can't say for certain." He tells the Village leader. "However, I do believe Tsuzaku Sasaki would have more intimate knowledge of that group, seeing as how he's fought with their leader twice now, and can probably judge his statements and whether or not they're true."

The other two people in the room turn and look at me as they see where Ishikawa's eyes are headed.

"What are you doing here?" The woman asks. "Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?"

"Relax." I hear the Hokage's voice. "He's the one Ishikawa just mentioned, so don't blow a fuse." He explains. "Come in here child, and give us your thoughts on the situation."

I watch the older woman step aside, and I walk inside, taking three steps inside the office, and then stopping, realizing that everyone else in the room is at least 10 years older then I am, if not more…

"If you honestly think my opinion matters…" I begin. "This isn't the work of the Yamikage." I tell him simply. "His group is too heavily expended to try something like this." I continue. "He wants to hide and rebuild his forces, no, this is the work of another group or unit, capitalizing on the timing of the attack on Konoha to try and build a name for it."

The Hokage nods once.

"I agree, after seeing the damage done to his forces, I agree that this is not the work of the Yamikage." He says simply. "This is the work of another group, and we have to put a stop to this before things get any worse."

"What's our plan of action?" Ishikawa asks, asking the question that is on everyone's mind.

"May I see a list of the threatened places?" The Hokage asks.

The pink haired girl nods, handing him a clipboard that I hadn't noticed before.

"This is the list of the places that have been threatened with acts of violence."

"Do any of the notes say what they want in order to prevent the violence?" The Hokage asks.

The woman shakes her head.

"They make no demands, only that the damage is going to happen, and there's nothing we can do to stop it."

I see the Village Leader sigh heavily, and I can tell that he didn't think he'd have to deal with these things when he accepted the position of Hokage…

"We don't have much choice." The Hokage begins after his sigh. "We'll send 4 member teams to each of the villages that were threatened, with the mission to find the terrorists attempting to destroy the village, and stop them at all costs." He finally says. "An S rank mission for any who undertake it…"

Both Ishikawa and the other woman nod.

"It's the best plan…" The woman says. "But we lack the manpower to perform such an exercise, and even digging into reserves, we still wouldn't have enough competent shinobi for a mission like that."

The Hokage looks at me, and I keep my expression cold and emotionless.

"There are many young talented shinobi who are more then capable of performing this mission." He explains. "Though many of them aren't even Chunin yet…"

I can feel the woman look at me, and then back to the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage, you can't mean you want to use this Genin standing here and his squad?" She asks sarcastically. "It'd be suicide for a team of Genin."

He smirks.

"This team has done suicide missions before." He says simply, and he looks at Ishikawa. "Will you accept this mission, as their Jounin leader?" The Hokage asks.

Ishikawa shakes his head no.

"I won't lead a team of 12 year olds into an S ranked mission." He explains. "However, I will assume command of a team of Chunin level ninja with more experience then my previous squad, and will be happy to lead them."

The Hokage shifts his gaze to the older woman.

"Well, would you be interested in leading a team of Shinobi that has both the heir to the Hyuga and Uchiha clans in it."

I see her eyes flinch at the name 'Uchiha.'

"What?" The woman demands. "The last Uchiha left this village years ago." She explains. "He became a missing ninja in search of power."

I see the Hokage grin.

"The boy standing next to you has the Sharingan." He says simply. "And has grown quite skilled with it…" He says.

The girl looks at me, and I turn to meet her gaze, and as she stares at me, I can see her eyes scrutinizing me, as if going over me with a fine tooth comb.

"Show me." She says simply.

I close my eyes, calling the Sharingan into them, and then I open them, revealing my fully evolved Sharingan to the girl…

"It can't be…" She stares in disbelief as my eyes return to normal. "You're just like him..."

I shake my head.

"My name is Sasaki, I've never heard of this Uchiha clan or anything like it." I explain. "I'm an orphan found near the village by a returning group of ninja. I have no connection to any family, anywhere." I say simply, putting an end to that train of thought.

"Okay…" The pink haired girl says, and then returns her gaze to the Hokage. "You're telling me you want to me to lead him, someone like Neji, and someone else on this mission?" She asks.

I raise my eyebrows at the word 'Neji.'

_She knows Himeko's family? Well, I guess that's to be expected, what with how powerful and prominent the clan is; it's no wonder…_

The Hokage nods.

"Yes, but they're all still Genin, though I'd say that all of them should be promoted to Chunin."

I almost feel a swelling of pride at the compliment paid to myself and my squad mates. The leader of the village believed the three of us to be Chunin caliber, though in the system, we're all still Genin…

"When do we leave?" The pink haired woman asks.

I see the Hokage grin.

"So, I take it that means you accept?"

She nods.

"I accept the mission." She says simply. "I'll lead the squad, and we will do what is asked of us."

He gives her a simple nod.

"You leave immediately; I suggest you pack, head to the border village of Kyonsia, and investigate."

She nods, and turns to me.

"Can I trust you to assemble the team together back here in 1 hour?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"I don't know where Chisato lives; only Ishikawa does." I motion toward my previous leader.

She looks at him, and I see him nod.

"I'll show you." He says to the woman.

She looks back and forth between us.

"Let's go." She says simply. "I hate waiting around."

We all leave the Hokage's office, and I run down the steps and through the building until I make my way outside. I run toward Himeko's house, my feet moving as fast as my legs can carry me, and when I arrive at the house, I can see that the doors are open. I go inside like I live there, and go inside through the courtyard, slipping my shoes off before going inside, and picking them up in my right hand, I take off into the mansion, going toward Himeko's room.

I get there rather quickly, and I knock on the door loudly, trying to get the girl's attention.

"Himeko, we've got a mission." I say simply.

There's a long silence, and I don't hear a response. I slide the door open carefully, and I look inside to see the overhead light off, the room nearly pitch dark, and no light comes from under the bathroom…

_Damn it…_

I close the door and I take off, heading toward the large ceremonial bath with a giant tub in it.

_Maybe she won't be there, but I have to check…_

I get there rather quickly, and I can see light from inside. I open the door a crack, and steam billows from inside out into the hall.

"Who's there?" I hear Hinata's voice from inside.

"Lady Hinata…" I begin, remembering to speak properly, in spite of my hurried situation. "Your daughter wouldn't happen to be in there, would she?"

"No." She responds. "She's out training in the dojo with Neji."

I let out a scoff, swearing under my breath.

_Great, he's about the last person I like to talk to, and to tell her she's got a mission in the middle of her training, I hope she isn't too worn out or exhausted…_

"Thank you." I say simply, and I close the door.

I take off toward their dojo, having learned my way around the house quickly enough. I run down the halls, holding my shoes in my right hand, and when I arrive at the dojo near the rear of the home, I stop at the door, breathing lightly. I slide the door open, and what I see forces me to stop and stare…

Himeko and Neji stand in the room, both of them standing in a Gentle Fist stance, both of their Byakugan active, and both of them stare at each other, both watching for even the slightest hint of weakness in the other. They don't even flinch when I open the door, and almost as if I sounded a starting gun, the two of them go after each other. I watch as the two of them clash, each of them throwing and parrying palm thrusts, chakra so thick in the air that I can see it coming off their strikes. I watch as they both block and parry, and even without the Sharingan, I can see that the Himeko that stands before me is different from the girl that I knew before the Chunin exams. Her body seems to irradiate chakra in the form of a blue glow that surrounds her body like an aura of protection, but I can tell that it's much more then that.

I watch as the older Neji counters and blocks her blows, his counterattacks getting stronger and more complicated as the skirmish goes on, and I watch as Himeko adjusts, preventing his counters from striking hits, and preventing him from stopping her chakra flow, the basic principal behind their fighting style.

Soon the fight is joined with both of them moving at such speed that they seem to be locked in an endless battle of thrust, parry, thrust, parry, thrust, and parry. It feels like an eternity as I watch them, but in reality on a few seconds pass, and the fight turns when I see a large blue aura appear around Himeko's arm…

"Eight Trigrams…." She begins. "…Empty Palm!"

She thrusts her arm forward, and I watch as a burst of chakra flies from her hand, plowing into Neji like a battering ram, and it knocks him back, sending him skidding across the mat, stopping after 7 feet go by.

With that, the melee stops, and the two stand there, and Neji gives a nod.

"You've done well, Himeko." He says. "I've taught you well, and you've done better then I hoped." He explains. "Your powers are worthy of someone to inherit our clan." He finishes.

He relaxes, standing up straight and Himeko does so as well, the apparent skirmish over as both their Byakugan fade.

"Thank you, Neji-sensei." She says, putting her hands together and bowing like a pupil toward her teacher.

He waves his hand.

"It was a pleasure to teach you." He says. "It is nice to future of the family is in good hands, even at your young age…"

I move a step forward onto the mat, my foot squishing the padded floor, and Neji turns his gaze toward me, not even rotating his face, only his blank looking eyes shift toward me.

"What is it?" He asks. "We were in the middle of training."

I swallow the saliva in my throat, feeling the annoyance of the man standing there, and his obvious distaste for me, in spite of the fact that I'm here with both Hinata and Himeko's blessing.

"Himeko and I have a mission." I finally manage my voice nearly cracking. "An S ranked mission."

He looks at me slowly.

"An S rank mission huh…" He asks. "I wasn't notified of any such missions being available to Genin."

"There have been some incidents." I say. "It would probably be best if you went to the Ninja headquarters for your answers." I tell him. "Himeko and I have to get ready and report back in less then an hour, we're leaving for Kyonsia."

Himeko knows I'm not joking, and she nods, turning toward her cousin.

"I shall return to finish my training, Neji-sensei."

He nods, and then looks at me.

"You better." He says simply, as if to tell me what I already know.

_I won't let her die, I'll protect her with my life, and you don't have to tell me that…_

Though, as the two of us leave the dojo, I wonder whether or not Himeko is even still in need of my protection, and I question whether or not she's even stronger then I am…

We head back to our respective rooms, and we start packing, shoving things into backpacks, clothes, weapons, rations, whatever we might need. It takes me nearly twenty minutes to finish, and I end up meeting Himeko in the foyer of the home, near the front door.

"You ready to go?" She asks simply.

I nod.

"Let's go." I say simply, and after slipping our shoes on, the two of us are on our way.

We run quickly, moving at a fast jog, rather then a full blown run. We move toward the main ninja headquarters, near the ninja Academy, and when we arrive, I see Chisato waiting for us, tapping her left foot impatiently…

"Well, you two are here." She finally manages. "I got this weirdo message saying we have an S rank mission to go on and had to report here in an hour." She explains. "What the hell is going on?"

Himeko shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't know." She says simply. "Tsuzaku is the one that brought me here."

The blonde and the dark haired girl both eye me.

"What's going on, Tsuzaku?" They say in unison.

I give them both an abridged summary of what was going on.

"You can't be serious." Chisato says, and I hear a female voice clear her throat behind her.

I see the pink haired girl from before, wearing the uniform of an ANBU member, complete with a wakizashi, missing only the animal mask.

"You…" I mutter.

She looks at the three of us with a serious expression.

"For the purposes of this mission, you can refer to me by my ANBU code name: Kori."

_So, she wants to be called Kori, huh?_

"All right Kori." I say, motioning toward the gate. "Lead the way."

She looks at me with a look of annoyance.

"You're awfully eager." She says. "But, we aren't leaving until I confirm I've got your names right." She says, pointing at Himeko. "You're Himeko Hyuga, correct?"

Himeko nods.

"Correct, ma'am."

She looks at Chisato.

"You're Chisato Shiriyuki, right?"

Chisato nods.

"It will be a pleasure to work with you, ma'am."

She gains a quick look of annoyance at the obvious attempt to suck up, and then dismisses it, returning her face to a cold expression.

"I will tell you now that ANBU captains are a little different then normal ones." She says.

"I'm up for it." I respond simply, crossing my arms. "Anything you give me, I can give you back, ten fold."

She looks at me, and then at Himeko and Chisato.

"What about you two?"

They both just nod.

"Good then, I won't have to go easy you on guys." She says. "Follow me."

She leaps into the trees, and the three of us follow her. She moves quickly, and I can tell that Himeko and Chisato are trying to keep up, and I have to do so as well, apparently Kori wishes to get this mission over with as soon as possible, and get back to her ANBU comrades, rather then deal with a bunch of spoiled brat Genin.

I scoff at the thoughts, and shake my head to clear them. I continue to follow the girl as she goes down to the street as we near the gate, and the three of us follow as she takes off through the gate, and we follow, looking like blurs of motion as we go through the gate. She heads back into the trees 20 steps after we pass through the gate, and we follow her up into the trees, leaping from branch to branch like the skilled ninja that we are. As we follow the girl, we keep quiet, not wanting to invite the ANBU girl's wraith for giving away our position like inexperienced rookies. As we leap from tree to tree, branch to branch, I focus on the task at hand, but at the same time, I'm left with my thoughts…

_Whoever the people are that threatened these towns, they're going to regret doing it if any of these ninja teams find them. I just hope that we don't find anything when we get to wherever it is we're heading. I mean, no organization, no matter how powerful, can pull off a combined coordinated attack against us like what they threatened to do, which must mean that the threats are probably meant to pull as many ninja away from the Village while the real attack occurs on the Village…_

_But I'm no genius, the Hokage no doubt figured that out, and is more then likely ready with a back up plan. After all, there are several village based squads that can't leave the village, no matter what; they're assigned as permanent protection against any foreign threats. Also, most of the ninja going out are inexperienced, which means that they're holding onto the seasoned veterans for village protection. _

I see something out of the corner of my eye, and I notice something that shouldn't be there. I don't open my mouth, as the figure that's moving stealthily through the trees is apparently unaware that I've spotted him, so I avert my eyes, but I know that he's there, I can feel him looking on. We keep going for another hour, when suddenly Kori raises her right hand and motions downward, indicating we're all going down at a relaxed pace. She goes down into the forest, and the three of us follow, landing in a small tree covered clearing no bigger then 8 feet across.

"What's wrong?" I ask her.

I see her glance up, and then back to us.

"We're taking a short rest." She says rather loudly, though not loud enough to hurt our hearing. "So sit down and take a breather."

Both Himeko and Chisato sit down, and I wait until Kori takes a seat with her back to a tree, and I sit down next to her.

"What are you doing?" She mutters, and both Chisato and Himeko eye us.

"You know he's there, right?" I whisper, disguising my lip movements.

"How long have you known?" She whispers back.

"For the last 15 minutes." I say simply.

She giggles, covering what we were talking about.

"Good Joke." She says, covering, and I laugh.

"You liked it?" I ask, starting to laugh as well, covering what we were really talking about.

I watch as the ninja begins to move through the trees, trying to get closer, to get within ear shot. I see Kori use the movements of laughter to cover her own moves, and she slaps the tree trunk, starting to laugh harder as if she thought the joke were really funny. Then, when the ninja was nearly breathing down on us, I watch as her right hand flickers to her sword, drawing and throwing the small wakizashi in a single motion, tagging the ninja in the chest like a bullet…

_Pretty good, she managed to lure him in, and then hit him with the sword…_

I see a male body fall from the trees, wearing old black ninja robes that look like they're at least a generation old. Even his face is covered by the hood, the mask a rectangle around his eyes, leaving only them revealed.

"Who the hell is it?" I ask, standing up, and both Himeko and Chisato don't look surprised.

"You two knew he was there?" She asks them, and they both nod. "Well, looks like I underestimated you three." She explains. "I only decided to stop for this rest break to try and buy time to plan on how I was going to take care of this problem." She explains. "But you all noticed, and you all seemed to understand easily enough."

The two of them nod as I walk over to the dead ninja, and I check his pulse, not feeling one, I do a double check against a different area, and still not feeling one, and the growing red mark on the center of his chest where the sword is still impaled, I come to the conclusion that he is in fact dead.

I tear the mask from his face, and reveal a scarred, disfigured face, like something you'd see out of a horror movie, barely recognizable as human anymore. His hair is gone, replaced by a bald hairless scalp. Pieces of his skin are tattered and improperly healed. His lips are missing, revealing a mouth that seems kept in a toothy smile…

"Ugh…" I say disgust, dropping the mask.

Kori takes a look, and I can tell that Himeko and Chisato do so as well.

"Disgusting…" I hear Chisato say.

"What happened to him?" Himeko asks in pity.

"I'd say some sort of accident, or he was born this way." Kori says, walking forward and kneeling down next to him. "He looks like a Shadow Stalker."

I raise my eyebrows.

"Shadow Stalker…" I ask, not recognizing the term.

She shakes her head.

"It was before your time, even before my time…" She explains. "A clan of ninja from the country of lightning who were born like this…" She explains, motioning toward his face. "They had excellent stealth and tracking skills, and because of their appearance they wore full face masks and were employed in mostly ANBU units." She tells us. "However, the last I heard the Shadow Stalkers were all annihilated by the Village Hidden in the Clouds because they feared the clan was preparing to take over the village."

I shake my head slowly, as if in pity.

"So, what is he doing here then?" I ask. "If the clan was wiped out, then how can one of them be lying here, and not to mention the three of us caught onto him so easily."

Kori looks down at the ninja, and then shakes her head, pulling her sword from his chest as she stands up.

"I honestly don't know what this ninja was doing here, but my best guess would be he was working for whoever made these threats to the outer towns."

"Then how do you explain him following us?" I ask. "How would he know where we were?"

She shrugs.

"He was probably lying in wait, knowing that we'd sent out shinobi teams to the outer villages to investigate the threats and try to stop them."

The three of us stand in silence, and I hear Chisato speak up.

"So, what do we do now?" She asks. "Do we turn back and warn the village, or do we continue with our mission?"

She sighs.

"I doubt Lord Hokage would be happy if we returned before we even made it to our target, and I'm sure that any attack made by this group would meet with failure, there are still too many ninja within the village to attempt a siege or even an attack." She explains. "I believe our best option is to continue on toward Kyonsia, and find out who is behind these threats, and put an end to them."

She reaches into a pouch behind her and removes a white cloth, cleaning the blood from the blade; she returns it to her sheath, looking at the three of us.

"Let's go." She says simply, and the three of us take to the trees.

We move through the trees swiftly, and after 10 minutes, I feel a stabbing pain shoot up my right arm.

"I need to stop!" I let out, and I go down toward the ground.

I land on my feet, and I stand there, pulling the shirt sleeves up, grasping at the bandages, and I pull the bandages off as the other three shinobi hit the ground, and I see them look at me as I pull the bandages from my arms, exposing the burns on my arm…

"Oh Tsuzaku…" I hear Himeko mutter.

I can see Chisato grin, and Kori walks forward, looking at my arm closely.

"Those burns, they look like third degree burns, how did you get them?"

I don't acknowledge her as I take the backpack off as carefully as possible, trying to avoid my injured arm as I slide the pack off, and I send my left arm into the bag, withdrawing a packet of bandages and a container of salve given to me by Hinata Hyuga…

"You're re-bandaging it." She says simply. "Let me help you."

I look at her, and I move my arm away from her.

"I'll handle it." I tell her coldly.

Using my free arm, I open the container of salve, and I put some on my left hand, and then wipe it up and down my arm, applying the healing ointment to the damaged skin…

"How did you get those injures?" The ANBU woman asks again. "Those burns aren't from an ordinary fire; I can tell that just from the chakra concentration left behind."

I hear Chisato scoff.

"He got those burns because he's an idiot, trying to master some sort of black fire jutsu." She tells the woman. "He went off on his own for a month, and came back with his arm wrapped like that."

"Black fire…" She begins. "You don't mean the Amaterasu?"

"You're well informed…" I winch in pain as I start to wrap my arm.

"So, you've managed to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan then?"

I look at her with a questioning look.

"No, I don't have it, but how did you know about something like that?"

She shakes her head.

"It doesn't matter now." She tells me. "What does matter is that you get your arm fixed up before we head out, I need you all at 100, and if you have to change your bandages, then you aren't going to be able to defend us."

I scoff.

"Don't worry about me, just worry about yourself."

I finish bandaging my arm quickly, and I'm on my feet before they begin to complain.

"I'm ready now." I say simply, and the four of us take to the trees again.

We leap from tree to tree, and we move quicker now, her already fast pace hastened for some unknown reason as Kori takes us through the trees. We travel for the rest of that morning and through the afternoon and into the evening, the girl pushing us, and our respective pride at not wanting to look bad in front of the ANBU member pushing myself at least to continue on, even as we travel later into the night, and the forest seems to go on forever, just trees, trees, and more trees coming toward me, my feet landing on them, and then running past them and continuing on.

_Does this woman even sleep? She's probably had special training where she can continue on for days without sleep, but we haven't had any such training, if she keeps this up, the three of us are going to pass out from exhaustion…_

As if on cue, Kori raises her right hand, and motions the signal for down, and we all head for the ground, the three of us grateful to finally be on solid ground. I can tell that Himeko and Chisato both feel the way I do, our legs being shorter then the fully grown woman's, and thus we've had to try and push harder to keep up with her.

"We rest here for the night." Kori tells us. "I'll take watch all night, you three sleep and get your rest, we've got a long day ahead of us."

I don't argue with the woman as I shuck the backpack off and then fall face first into the ground, not really caring for comfort, just that I'm able to stop, and to rest, more then anything.

I feel my eyes close, and I'm out like a light.

I awake the next morning to see Kori standing over us all, leaning against a tree, the sun beginning to shine into the forest…

"You're up early." She says simply.

I nod.

"Slept well though…" I mutter, getting to my feet, I brush my back off.

"How's your arm?" She asks.

I flex my right arm, having slept on my stomach the night before.

"Doesn't feel that bad…" I tell her. "Why are you asking?"

"I had a shadow clone work on it while I took a nap."

I raise my eyebrows.

"You mean you used a shadow clone to watch over the group while the real you slept?"

She nods.

"Its hell for mental fatigue, but physical fatigue is harder to deal with, and besides, I took some time to sleep." She explains.

I shake my head, flexing my arm.

_The pain actually feels like it has lessened, as if a good amount of healing occurred while I slept. Could this girl be a skilled medic ninja as well as a member of ANBU? I heard that high level medics can heal great wounds over night, as if they never happened at all. Someone with that level of skill would certainly belong in the ANBU, but if that's the case, and this Kori specializes in healing, then that means that the combat will be left up to the three of us, and we'll have to protect her, which isn't good…_

"Don't worry about me." She says simply. "I can hold my own in combat as well, so don't go thinking I'm some sort of weakling that you have to protect."

I nod my consent.

"You're the leader here, I'm not much more then a grunt."

She gives me a strange, quizzical look.

"You really don't know how much potential you have, do you?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"If you develop your Sharingan, you'll be able to see through almost any ninjutsu or genjutsu, and turn it back on the user." She tells me. "And with taijutsu, you'll be able to copy their movements as your own…"

"You know a lot about the Sharingan…" I begin, but I stop when I see Chisato and Himeko both begin to stir.

"Looks like they're waking up too…"

_Apparently, the human body can only sleep uncomfortably for so long before they wake up out of sheer uncomfortable-ness…_

"What time is it?" I hear Chisato grumble as she gets up.

"Early enough…" I point toward the horizon. "The sun's just coming up."

The two of them look toward the sun, and I see Chisato squint, and then turn her gaze away.

"Damn it all to hell." The girl says.

Himeko stands up, brushing her black clothes off, and I do so as well.

"We need to start toward town." She says. "We're only a couple hours away."

Chisato looks at her and stares lasers into the woman.

"You mean; you stopped us when we were only a few hours away from a nice, soft bed?"

Kori stares back at the girl.

"I stopped us here because if we went to sleep in the town, we'd be vulnerable; we're much safer out here in the forest, where we at least have some natural cover."

Chisato looks away, apparently beaten in the argument, but knowing her, she wouldn't give up that easily on the argument, no matter how much logic the older woman put behind it.

_She always seemed to lack the understanding of logic that nearly drives me, so I guess you could say that we're natural opposites. _

"Well, we need to head into town, now that its light, the village will be waking up soon, and we can be free to move around and investigate the area." She explains.

Kori leads the four of us back into the trees, and my legs feel better then they did the previous day. I run, keeping pace with the others, and with the rest, we make it to the village after only two hours.

Kyonsia sits on the edge of the forest, less then 50 feet from a line of trees. The village is on the outskirts of the country, and after you pass through it, you're on your way to the Land of Lightning, and the village hidden in the clouds…

"So, that's it?" Chisato asks, and I nod.

"That's Kyonsia, it's nothing more then an outlying town near the border of the land of fire and the land of lightning." Kori explains.

"So, you really think a group of terrorists is going to attack a town like this?" Chisato asks. "What's the point in it all?"

"Some people just like to kill and cause mayhem, it's in their blood." Kori tells the three of us.

I nod my agreement, knowing full well that she speaks the truth as we look at the outskirts of the town. The small village is nothing more then a large circle of civilization before you cross the border, and many of the people that live in the village are merchants and guides, trying to make a living by guiding or selling to tourists. While it's true that ninja from opposing lands are not allowed in another land's village, the people of those countries are allowed to travel however they wish.

"We need to get going." Kori says. "We'll start by going into the town and asking around about any suspicious persons or groups that recently came into town, and we'll search, if you find anything, radio it to the others."

We all nod as we put our respective radios on, and she looks at the three of us.

"Good luck, and be careful."

We all just nod, and with that, the four of us split up, each of us taking a separate 'side' of the village. We move in a cross shape from the outside in, sweeping the interior of the town and meeting in the middle. I move to the 'left' side of the town and I stop, seeing that there is a road that bisects the town and it crosses another road that forms a cross shape, making it much easier for the four of us to do our jobs…

_Haven't found anything yet, so may as well get this over with…_

Putting my hands on the straps of the pack, I start forward, looking like a young and weary traveler as I walk down the large dirt road. Grass abounds in the area, but the road has been so heavily used and trampled that plants no longer grow on it. I can feel the dust getting between my toes as I walk, and I try to look around in awe, like a stupid child who doesn't know where he is, and what this place is…

I see people on both sides of the road, some of them standing behind carts or stands, while others walk between them. Obviously, this is probably crucial to the local economy, and the people here are peaceful, and used to seeing strangers…

_This is going to make it harder to find the people who are trying to kill them..._

I see an older woman walking between the stands as the merchant yells, and I approach her slowly, not wanting to startle her.

"Excuse me, Miss?" I ask.

She turns to look, and I raise my hand to indicate it was I who spoke.

"What is it young man?" The dark haired woman asks.

She looks to be roughly Kori's age, with long dark hair, and dressed in a light blue kimono with white trim around the edges, tied at her waist by a dark blue sash. Her eyes are dark and her face friendly.

_She's not the most beautiful person in the world, but I can't imagine that she isn't married, unless by choice…_

"I was just wondering…" I begin, trying to find the right words to form the question. "Has anyone been acting strangely lately?"

She looks at the headband on my head, and then looks me over.

"You're a ninja, from the village, correct?" She asks, not answering my question.

I give a nod.

"Yes ma'am, I and three others are here in response to the threats that were leveled against your village."

She shakes her head, as if in disgust.

"Well, you can go back to your village." She says. "No one has come in or out of this town since well before those letters arrived, and with our Fall Festival about to begin, we don't need any more buzz about the threats."

I give her a sideways look.

_She's sending me away?_

"Don't you believe the threats are serious?" I ask. "Lord Hokage…"

The woman cuts me off.

"This town has no political value or anything like that." She tells me. "We're nothing but peaceful citizens trying to get by and live our lives, why would anyone want to harm us, we don't harm them."

I shake my head.

"It doesn't work that way, these people are crazy, they just-"

"Ma'am…" I hear an older voice come from beyond her, to my left, and I see an older man with short dark hair standing there. He wears a robe similar to hers, only made for a man, a lavender color. "Is there a problem here?"

I notice the sword at his belt, and I realize he must be some sort of local police…

"No, there's no problem." I say, turning to leave. "I was just getting on my way."

I start walking back the way I came, and I reach my left hand up to my left ear, pressing the transmit button on the radio.

"This is Tsuzaku, I've encountered the locals, and I've learned some information, we should all meet back at our separation point."

I hear three agreements with my statement, and once I leave the village, I use my real speed to make my way back to the point where the group separated, and when I arrive, I see that I'm the last to arrive, with the three girls all standing there in a semi-circle, waiting for me.

"You're late." Chisato tells me.

I ignore her as we begin our meeting, and we all make our reports to Kori, and the woman gives a report of her own, the stories nearly identical…

"What do we do?" Himeko asks. "They don't want us here, even though we're here to help them."

Kori shakes her head slowly.

"We can't just abandon this mission, these people are in danger, and we were charged with protecting them, even if they don't realize they need it." She says flatly.

"So, what's the plan?" I ask.

Kori smiles a deceptive smile.

"Well, if it were me trying to kill these people, I'd attack the square during this autumn festival they're about to hold." She explains. "There will be a large crowd of people and probably lots of fireworks to celebrate the occasion, which means the intruders, will have optimal cover and a large group of targets."

"Which means, we're going to sneak into the festival, right?" I ask.

She nods once.

"We're going to transform ourselves into a group of young people who came from the Village Hidden in the Leaves to watch the festival." She tells us. "We'll all change into the opposite sex during our transformation to make it harder for them to see through the disguise."

I raise an eyebrow.

"And you're telling me that 4 people arriving the day of the festival aren't going to make them wonder?"

She shakes her head.

"They're expecting people to come, and they want people to come for the festival, so they aren't going to go suspecting people that come to the village when they want them too." She tells us. "The festival is tomorrow evening into tomorrow night, so I suggest we all sneak back into the village and spy on everyone we can, try to gather as much intelligence as we can."

We all nod.

"Meet back here in 1 hour, radio silence unless you discover the terrorist base, understood?"

We all nod again, and with that, we all move like streaks, heading into the village.

Normally, we'd have waited until nightfall to sneak into the village, but we're looking for information, and hiding on rooftops and listening to conversations from the shadows during the day is going to get that easier then skulking around the town at night, when most of the people are in doors. I move independently of the others, and we all seem to keep track of the other ninja, spotting them because we're all trained since we were 5 years old to spot people in darkness, and to see through deception. I move around the village like a shadow, hiding everywhere I can, getting as close to the people as I dare without any sort of ninjutsu or genjutsu to conceal my presence from them. There are many times during the course of my time sneaking that I can see someone grow suspicious, but they all just shrug off the feeling that someone is watching them. I keep my presence concealed, and some of things I hear are useful, but most of it is just mindless chatter of townsfolk going on about their business…

"Can you believe the festival is tomorrow, it's going to be so much fun?" One young man said.

"Yeah, I'm hoping that I'll finally be able to get Maya…" I heard another young man respond.

"You're still trying to get that?" The first responded…

_Teenagers, all they ever think about is sex…_

I ignore the rest of the conversation, and when the way is clear, I move on, sticking to shadows and rooftops, saying out of sight, and doing everything possible to do so. Finally, after nearly an hour of sneaking around the village, I make my way back toward the rendezvous point, landing in the clearing just ahead of Himeko and Kori, Chisato being the last one to return.

"You're late." I shoot back at her finally, and I can see an annoyed scowl appear on her face as I give her a conceited grin.

"Well, did you all learn anything useful?" Kori asks.

I shake my head no, and Himeko and Chisato perform similar actions.

"Me too…" The ANBU girl says, sitting down on the ground, putting her hands on her knees. "These people have no idea that they're even under any sort of threat, and all they're thinking about is this upcoming festival."

"And an upcoming chance to screw." I say derogatorily.

Kori raises her eyebrows.

"You mean you listened in to a teenager's conversation?" She asks, guessing without any real work.

I nod.

"This one guy was talking about sleeping with a girl named Maya." I explain. "The whole conversation just seemed to drip with hormones."

The ANBU woman looks me over, and then scoffs.

"You'll know, give it 2 or 3 years, and you'll be just like him." She tells me.

Chisato giggles, taking pleasure in the shot at me from the ANBU ninja, and I turn to glare the girl in the eyes.

"You got something to say?" I ask in an angry tone, ready to slam my fist through her nose.

She smiles.

"No, no, no." She says, waving me off. "Kori already said it for me."

I growl under my breath, and I look into the forest, Himeko keeping quiet, wanting to stay out of the argument.

_That's just like her; she'd rather not get involved in the argument then defend or offend anyone…_

"Well, if all you're going to do is bash men, then perhaps I should leave the three of you to do your jobs, and I'll head back to the Village." I say simply. "It would seem that this team doesn't want or need me around."

I see the ANBU woman's eyes go wide.

"Now wait a damn minute…" She tells me. "You need to learn to take a joke, first of all." She begins. "And second of all, we're going to need all the help we can get on this one, so you aren't going anywhere."

I shake my head.

"I'm going to go find somewhere to make camp, away from this cloud of estrogen."

I turn and walk away in anger, and I make my way through the bushes, ignoring the protests from both the ANBU leader and Himeko, my thoughts instead focusing on the happy Chisato, who would probably jump for joy if I just dropped dead…

_I'll never understand that damn woman…_

I find a small clear area of forest and I set my pack down, going into it, I set up my simple tent, and then finding various rocks and stones lying around, I make a small fire pit, throwing some small twigs and dry leaves into it, I use a small fire jutsu to ignite the fire, and before long, I have a pot of rations cooking over the small blaze, sitting on the ground, watching the fire dance…

_Maybe I shouldn't have come on this trip, I should probably just head back, and I'm not really needed anyway. Himeko's improved a lot since before the exams, and Chisato is more then capable of handling herself, and I couldn't care less about that ANBU member, but she became a member of the group for a reason, so I don't doubt that she can't handle herself in combat…_

I think about the Sharingan, and the jutsu that I managed to somewhat master in the month between the second and final rounds of the Chunin exams…

_As I am right now, I can only use that black fire to empower that jab, and even then, the fire burns off so quickly after use that it only has a few seconds of damage potential before it disappears…_

"I wonder if I'll ever master it…" I mutter as I stare into the fire.

I don't know how long I'm sitting there, in silence, when I hear the sounds of the grass rustling, and I look toward the source of the noise to see Himeko approaching me.

_Figures, she's the one they sent to try and apologize…_

"Tsuzaku…" She begins. "So, you've been here all this time?"

I nod, removing the rations from the fire.

"It's gotten late, hasn't it?" I ask, looking up at the night sky.

She nods.

"Everyone's worried about you, even Chisato."

I shake my head.

"I doubt that." I respond. "I would think that her and our new squad leader would be hitting it off, having a great time."

She shakes her head.

"Kori yelled at Chisato after you left, damn near tore her a new one too." She explains.

"Really, I would've liked to see that." I say. "Though, it doesn't matter much, we're going to be out in the forest tonight, and I've got camp set up here." I tell her, reaching into a small pile of sticks and throwing them into the fire. "So, I won't be rejoining the three of you at that small clearing."

"It's just the opposite." Himeko tells me. "Kori wants to know if you'd object to our coming here."

I raise my eyebrows.

"Why wouldn't she come herself?" I ask. "If her purpose was just that, then she should've come herself, instead of sending you."

"She thought you might still be fuming at the comment she made about you, and asked me to come instead."

"So, basically she's saying that I can't take a joke, and she's afraid I'm going to kick you out of my camp site?"

"She said she'd rather keep the group together then have two separate camps." She explains. "That way, it's easier to keep watch at night."

I scoff.

"So basically she's just lazy, and wants to use me as part of a rotation?" I ask. "Why not just have the three of you make a camp and then work in shifts to keep watch; it's easier with 3 people."

"She'd rather us stay together." Himeko says again. "She wants me to emphasize that what she said earlier was a joke, and it wasn't meant as a real insult, in spite of what Chisato took it to mean."

I shrug my shoulders.

"If you want, you can stay here, but I need to sleep." I tell her, feeling tired. "So, once you get back, I'm going to bed."

She nods, and she goes back into the forest, and 2 minutes later, she returns with the other 2 women in tow. Kori has a calm, cold expression on her face, while Chisato has her head hung in shame, as if she were a captured general in war being paraded in front of the victorious enemy capital city…

_She must've argued with Kori for making a separate camp, and when Himeko returned saying they could stay at mine, she must've objected, and it's obvious to me that she didn't want to come here. _

"Nice set-up." Kori comments and I nod.

"It was easy to do, and should suffice." I tell her, standing up. "Camp's all yours, I'm going to bed."

I walk over to my tent, and unzipping the door, I go inside and zip it up from inside, effectively closing the door.

Inside the tent I have my sleeping bag set up, with my pack against the far end, a small pillow near the top of the bag.

I sigh as I climb inside, stifling a yawn, I zip the bag up, and prepare to go to sleep, when…

"I still don't like this." I hear Chisato's voice.

_They're talking?_

"Look, we need to keep the team together." Kori tells her in a flat tone. "If that means doing this, then we do it."

"I thought the two of you worked out your problems when we were in the waterfall village Chisato." Himeko says.

"Tch!" The girl scoffs.

"Why don't you like him, anyway?" Kori asks. "He seems nice enough, and he's very talented."

"That's just it." She says. "He doesn't know what hard work is." She explains. "With that damn Sharingan of his, he can learn any ninjutsu or genjutsu just by watching it done." She explains. "And then there's the way he acts like he has to protect us, like we're weaklings who can't fight for ourselves!"

I see the larger shadow of Kori shake her head.

"You don't understand the male mind." Kori tells her. "Most men will usually try to protect a girl they're friends with, even if there's no romantic involvement." She explains. "It's just something that they do, I really don't know why, but he isn't doing it to make you angry, Chisato." Kori tells her. "He's only doing it because it's instinctive for him."

She scoffs again.

"Still, he doesn't have to act all high and mighty, like he's so strong and powerful."

"He is." Kori says simply. "His Sharingan gives him abilities unlike anything you've seen." She explains. "The reason you don't respect him is because he's only began to scratch the surface of what he's capable of." She tells the girl. "Once he's completely mastered the eye, he'll be frightening."

"How do you know about the Sharingan?" Himeko asks. "Mom told me the clan that bore it was extinct."

I hear the girl sigh above the crackling of the fire.

"It's basically true." She says. "The clan is almost extinct, with only one person openly bearing the name."

"That doesn't answer her question." Chisato tells her.

She nods.

"I know a lot about the Sharingan, because I was once in love with the man who has to be Tsuzaku's real father."

_My dad…_

"His father…" Himeko asks.

The older woman nods.

"He was a squad mate of mine when we were both Genin, along with the Sixth Hokage…" She tells us. "He was unbelievably strong, and considered the top rookie Genin of our class." She tells us. "He pushed himself to become stronger and stronger, and no matter what happened, he always had a single goal on his mind."

"And what goal was that?" Chisato asks.

"To kill his older brother…" The girl says simply.

"You mean; he wanted to kill his older brother, why?" Himeko asks.

"His older brother annihilated their clan, killed his parents and everyone else he cared about, sparing only him because he was held up at the ninja academy back in Konoha."

I feel a pang of pain in my heart, and I can feel a part of me want to scoff, and I hear his voice in my ears.

"Worst mistake I ever made…" It whispers in my ears. "I should've killed him when I had the chance."

I shake my head, clearing the voice from my head.

"What happened to him?" Himeko asks.

"He left the village when he was 12, and he never came back, becoming a missing ninja on the search for the power necessary to kill his older brother." She tells us. "That single thought never once left his mind, and when I finally saw him again, he was a totally different person, twisted by his mentor's evil ways."

I shake my head and then lay down.

_It doesn't matter who she thinks my parents are, I'm an orphan, and I don't have any parents!_

I put the pillow over my ears, and I close my eyes, praying for sleep…

I awake the next morning to Kori's voice, and I sit up, my hair disheveled and unkempt. I shake my head and glance down to my left wrist, seeing that it's still early.

"Come on Tsuzaku, we need to get going." She says through the tent walls.

I can see three total silhouettes outside the tent, and I know that Himeko and Chisato are both up and awake, probably ready to don their disguises. I run a hand through my hair to straighten it, and then I get up, yawning as I do, crawling forward and opening the tent, revealing the three of them, all standing around the front of the tent.

"What?" Is all I can ask, trying to sound innocent.

"We need to get going." Kori says again. "You went to sleep before all of us, and you slept longer then any of us."

I yawn as I get up out of the tent.

"Sorry about that." I say.

I turn around and remove my things from the tent, and then I take the portable tent down and pack it up back into my backpack, and then I shoulder the pack, looking around to see the fire has long since burned out, and the only thing in the small camping area other then myself are the three kunoichi…

"Well, should we transform now?" I ask. "...Get into disguise now and then get down there and mingle?"

Kori shakes her head, vetoing the idea.

"The festival doesn't start until an hour before sundown, and if we transformed now, we'd be wasting chakra maintaining the transformation when we don't need it."

"Well, what then?" I ask. "Do we just stand there and wait until an hour and half before sundown?" I ask.

She shakes her head no.

"We're going to do some more spying, and see if we can spot anything different." She says, and I feel the pack slip off, a groan nearly escaping my lips.

_Great, listening to more teenagers talking about trying to get laid…_

"We'll split up like we did yesterday, and the same rules apply."

We all nod, and with that, we separate, moving like blurs toward the town.

I begin my spying mission in the same area of town I was in yesterday, and I see the two kids I had found the day before, now they're standing on the side of the road, talking to each other, and I get close enough to get a listen.

"So, Maya said she's going to be wearing a new kimono to the festival tonight." He says an expression like a rabid dog on his face. "And tells me that isn't the only surprise I've got coming to me." He says with a grin.

The other kid grins, tapping the other kid's fist with his own.

"Good job man, be sure to tell me all about it tomorrow."

The first kid grins.

"No problem man, what are friends for?" He asks sarcastically.

I shake my head, feeling a twinge of pity for the poor girl that is probably going to do something stupid with that kid, and not realize that her lover is going to broadcast it to everyone he considers his friend…

I see a blonde haired, blue eyed girl approach the two, and I see their posture change the moment they notice her. She wears a white robe with blue flower designs on it, and she appears to be around 17 or 18 years old. As she approaches them, I see the one who claims to have a girlfriend start talking to her, and I realize that this must be the infamous Maya that dominates their conversation…

_She's pretty, and it's obvious that she thinks this kid is a good guy, and she's probably only going to go through with the act because he wants to, and she's conned him into it…_

"Well, we got to go Maya; I'll see you at the festival all right?" The first says, and she nods, the two of them departing, and she remains for a moment…

_Wait, if I could get her to accompany me to the festival, I wouldn't have to bother doing the whole sex change thing that Kori wants to do. I'll still have to transform, but into a less complicated transformation, making it easier on my chakra…_

I decide on that course of action, and I put my hands together, making the appropriate hand sign for the transformation jutsu, and I envision what I want in my mind's eye.

"Transform…" I mutter.

There's a puff of smoke, like a small smoke bomb going off, and I hear the blonde haired girl gasp.

"Is someone back there?" Her voice echoes into the alleyway. "Are you all right..."

I pretend to cough, and I step through the smoke in my transformed state.

I've basically changed into an older looking version of myself; wearing nearly identical clothes, save for the bandages on my right arm and without a headband on my forehead.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" I mutter, coughing again.

I see her look me over.

"I've never seen you before…" She says, showing a hint of interest in her voice. "Are you here for the festival tonight?"

I nod, and even without the Sharingan, I can tell she's fallen for the boyishly handsome face I've constructed for the transformation.

"Yes, I came to town this morning." I say calmly. "Though, I couldn't help getting lost and turned around, and before I knew it, I was back in this alley, and I heard those two boys talking about you…" I mutter.

I see her eyes go wide.

"They were talking about me?" She asks innocently. "What did they say?"

I clear my throat.

"I believe the one was saying that he couldn't wait for the festival tonight because you were going to sleep with him, and the other one told the first to tell him about it afterward."

I can see the reaction is immediate, even without the Sharingan, I can see her cheeks get red from anger, and her fists ball up.

"What…" She mutters, like a witch ready to curse someone.

I nod.

"It's only what I heard, though it might have been they were talking about someone else…"

"Come with me!" She says, grabbing me by the wrist, and I focus to keep the transformation in tact.

She ends up dragging me through the street and toward a house, and she yells into the home, and I can see the boy she was dating emerge from the house, and when he sees me, his eyes go thin.

"Maya, what's wrong?" He asks. "Why are you shouting, and who is this?"

She glares at him with a look that could freeze fire.

"This guy told me that you were bragging about getting to sleep with me after the festival tonight!" She says. "And that you'd tell your friend all the details!"

Surprise shows on his face for only a second, but it's long enough for her to see it, and the honesty in it.

"That isn't true!" He says, lying, trying to cover his tracks. "I wouldn't do anything like that!"

I can already tell that he's lost this argument.

"You are such an ASS!" She yells, slapping him hard. "I thought you loved me, when all you really wanted was my BODY!" She continues, slapping him again. "I don't want to see you again!"

She takes off at a run, and at first he looks at her, and then to me.

"You'll regret telling her that…" He says.

I smirk.

"I don't think I will." I say simply. "But if you try to go after her and lie to her some more, I'll personally cut your balls off."

He looks at me, dismisses the threat, and then takes off after her.

"Maya, wait a minute!" He yells after her.

I close my eyes, opening them to reveal the Sharingan, and I withdraw a kunai from my pouch into my left hand…

_I told you so…_

My eyes lock onto my target, and I let fly with the knife, throwing it with deadly accuracy as the blade seems to leap from my transformed body, and goes between his legs, and I see the tip strike home…

A moment later, he lets out a scream as blood begins to flow and stain his clothes between his legs. I close my eyes, and he grabs at his groin, falling to his side and writhing in pain.

I turn the Sharingan off, and I walk toward him, stopping next to him.

"If I were you, I'd listen next time." I tell him. "And, you might want to go to a hospital, or you won't have anything down there at all."

I walk past, knowing full well that the kid won't have a leg to stand on if he tries to take me to prison. There are no witnesses, and this form's fingerprints are different from my own, so any marks on the knife are going to point to a twelve year old kid's hands, not the hands of a 17 year old. I continue to hear him scream in pain, and I know that soon someone will notice, so I make sure I move quickly, catching up with the girl he was going after, and I see her standing near a well, looking down into the long shaft.

The well sits between buildings, back off the road. I approach her slowly, and I can see tears coming down Maya's face, and the way she looks at the well.

"So, this is where you are." I say, not knowing what else to say.

_I've managed to destroy their relationship, even if the guy was worthless, she liked him, I guess it was going to happen sooner or later…_

She looks at me, and I see more tears begin to flow, and these are accompanied by sobs as she falls to her knees, and I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach…

_I really did it this time…_

I undo the transformation, my body becoming surrounded in a puff of smoke, and I go through it, in my normal, unaltered form…

"Wha, who are you?" She asks. "Where's the other guy?"

I shake my head.

"I feel really bad about all this." I say simply. "That person you met before was just an illusion I created." I explain. "I overhead those guys talking and I wanted to break the two of you up, but I didn't think you'd be this beat up about it." I tell her. "I'm truly sorry."

She sobs, and she looks me over.

"How old are you anyway?" She asks, wiping the tears away. "You don't look that old."

"My name is Tsuzaku Sasaki, and I'm 12 years old." I tell her. "I'm a Genin level ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leaves." I tell her.

She nods.

"So, you came here to break up bad teenager couples?" She asks.

I shake my head no.

"I really wanted you to accompany me to the festival tonight so I could get in easier, at first that's what I wanted to do, but after seeing the way that guy was treating you, I knew that sooner or later you would break up anyway, and I just wanted to save you the heartbreak, I swear."

I get on my hands and knees, and I bow to her in a symbol of apology.

"I truly am sorry, and I pray that you'll be able to forgive me."

I hear her sniffle, and then she exhales through her mouth.

"Come on, get up." She manages to say. "You don't have to bow to me like that." She tells me, smiling. "Besides, you're kind of cute, for a 12 year old."

I sit up, moving to a cross legged position.

"Thank you, I think." I respond, and I see her smile, a giggle escaping her lips.

"You're dense, you know that?"

I nod.

"That's not the first time I've heard that." I tell her, and I hear her laugh once.

"So, you really wanted to split him and me up, huh?"

I nod.

"I don't know why, but I believe that you're a nice girl, and he doesn't deserve someone like you." I tell her. "He thought of you as a trophy." I elaborate. "You need someone who will like you for yourself, and that you can be happy with."

She shakes her head.

"Is there even anyone like that in this world?" She asks, looking up at the sky.

I nod, standing up and offering her a hand.

"There is." I tell her. "Come on, I'll get you some ice cream." I tell her. "You'll feel better after you eat something sweet." I say, matter of factly.

She smiles, scoffing in humor.

"That's the first time someone younger then I am has offered me ice cream…" She says, taking my hand and using it to stand, showing me that she still has at least a foot on me. "I accept your gracious offer." She finishes.

20 minutes later, the two of us hold ice cream cones, and she smiles as she eats the treat…

"You know, it's been a while since I just got some ice cream and relaxed." She tells me.

I nod.

"You have to learn to stop and smell the roses; you don't often get a chance."

The two of us sit on a bench in a public park within the small village. The sky is clear, and the temperature is perfect for something like this.

She opens her mouth to ask me a question, but I see several armed men that look like policemen come running into the park, and they head toward the bench I'm sitting on…

_Stay calm, she doesn't know you cut off his testicles, and they're looking for someone who's much older then you are, don't worry about it._

The men approach her, and one of them eyes me, and then shifts his gaze back to her.

"Maya, have you seen the young man that was with you an hour ago?"

She raises her eyebrows, but makes no motion toward me.

"No, why do you ask?" She asks.

"Apparently, that young man told your boyfriend to stay away from you, and when he refused to do so, he somehow cut your boyfriend's testicles off."

Some of the policemen shutter at the thought, and I see a smile glance Maya's lips, and then vanish.

"Sorry, I haven't seen him, though you might want to try the festival tonight, he said he was going to be there." She says, and the policemen nod.

"Who's the boy?" He asks her.

"My cousin…" She says. "He just came to the village for the festival tonight; he's never been to one before." She says, answering for me.

"What happened to your arm, kid?" He asks, looking me over.

Fortunately, I already took my headband off, deciding it was better to hide that fact then broadcast it.

"I feel into a campfire during a camping trip." I explain. "Burned my arm pretty bad, you want to see?" I ask, sounding happy, and he shakes his head.

"No, that's okay." He says, bowing to Maya. "You both have a good day, and contact us if you see that man." He says, turning and leaving.

After he's long gone, she looks at me, and I see a grin on her face.

"You did that, didn't you?" She asks from behind the ice cream cone.

"Cut off his balls?" I ask behind my own. "Yeah, that was me."

She smiles.

"Serves him right…" She says simply.

I shake my head.

"I told him he shouldn't come after you, and he did anyway, so I only went through with my threat."

She smiles again.

"Well, I'll be happy to escort you to the festival tonight." Maya tells me. "So, shall we meet back here, an hour before sundown?"

I nod.

"I appreciate this." I tell her. "I've only got the purest of intentions for wanting to be here."

She gets up, finishing her ice cream.

"I know, I don't know why, but I can just tell about you, and I know that you're here to good, and I want to help you if I can, because as weird as it sounds, I just know you're telling the truth."

She walks away, leaving me holding my ice cream cone, and as I finish it, see an older man approach me and sit down, wearing common looking clothing with short dark hair…

"What do you want, Kori?" I ask the man, leaning back against the chair.

The man sitting next to me explodes in a puff of smoke, and when the smoke clears, Kori sits there in her normal ninja clothing.

"Your eyes are sharp, to see through my transformation without your Sharingan."

I grin.

"I didn't need it." I tell her. "When you changed into a man, you changed into a completely unrealistic looking man, so I knew it had to be you, since you wouldn't send either Himeko or Chisato on something like that."

She looks me over, and then shakes her head.

"Whatever…" She begins. "Just who the hell was that girl anyway?" She continues. "The two of you were acting awfully chummy."

I shake my head.

"I cut her ex boyfriend's balls off after she figured out that he was using her." I explain, and she scoffs.

"You cut his testicles off, I wouldn't expect that of a man." She tells me.

I shrug.

"Either way, I've got a way into the Festival tonight, so you three can do whatever you want, I won't have to transform to get in."

She stands up.

"I've got Himeko and Chisato searching the village still; so far we haven't come up with anything useful." She explains. "Whatever these terrorists are planning, if anything, they're going to do it at the festival."

I nod my agreement.

"Hopefully we'll be able to stop whatever it is they're going to do before they can kill anyone." I tell her. "I'll be on the look out, so don't worry about me."

With that, the woman gets up and walks away, disappearing in a blur of motion.

I sit there, and I shake my head, sighing heavily as I look up into the sky…

_I've got hours until an hour before sundown…_


	11. Chapter 11: Part 1 Epilogue

(Well, this is the end of the first 'Part' of the story. I would say it's the end of the first half of the story, but I don't like limiting myself like that. Also, the same person reviewed this thing three times. I know it sounds bad, but reviews are appreciated, TELL ME HOW I'M DOING PEOPLE! I know I update a lot, and that's probably why you don't review, but I'd still like some feedback on what I've done, what you might be looking forward to in Part 2, WHATEVER! As long as you don't spam me begging for updates, I'll accept any comments or criticism, and thanks in advance for them…)

Chapter 11: The Festival, Part 1 Epilogue

The hours pass in relative peace. I get some food at a local ramen shop, keeping my headband concealed and in my pack, pretending to be just a young traveler that's come to the town for the festival.

I make my way back to the park with 20 minutes to spare, and I wait there, crossing my arms as I wait for the blonde haired young woman.

I see a young woman approach me, wearing a bright yellow ukada with white flower designs She wears a purple sash around her waist, and it seems to dim the whole brightness of the outfit, and her hair is done up, tied up on top of her head with fancy bows and braids, and altogether, the woman is stunningly beautiful, so much so that it isn't any wonder that the man was ready to brag about sleeping with her…

"So, you're here already…" The girl says, smiling with her hands together in front of her.

I nod.

"It would be rude of me to be late for something like this." I tell her in a flat tone, and she giggles.

"You're so stiff and formal; you need to learn to loosen up a little." She tells me, offering me advice.

I nod.

"I know, but it's hard for me to relax, I've got a purpose for being here, and I have to accomplish my mission."

She shakes her head.

"We should get going." She tells me.

I nod my agreement, and the two of us start toward the center of the village, the site of the autumn festival.

"So, do you have anyone you're interested in?" She asks. "Or, are you still in the 'girls have cooties' phase?" She asks, clarifying on what she meant.

I nod.

"There is someone…" I mutter. "Though, I don't deserve her."

"Really…" She begins. "Why don't you deserve her, is she too good for you or something?"

I nod my agreement.

"She's the heir to one of the noblest clans from within the village, with a long and well beloved history, I'm just an orphan boy who was raised in a foster family, and how can I possibly be good enough for her?"

"Do you love her?" The blonde asks.

I look down at the ground, and I sigh heavily.

"I think I do, but, I really don't deserve her…"

I see the woman smile.

"Then become someone worthy of her affection." She tells me. "Make it your goal in life; and before long, you'll become someone worthy of her love and affection, and I'm sure that her feelings will only grow for you as she watches you change."

I shake my head.

"I don't know…" I mutter.

She giggles lightly.

"You really are a sweet guy, and I'm sure you'll make her happy."

_I wish I could be as sure as you are…_

I don't verbally respond to her comment, as we arrive near the town square, with lights strung around everywhere, candle powered lanterns bask the square in light, and people surround the square, filling it with villagers and people celebrating the coming of Autumn. To me, I notice the people dressed in their formal wear, women wearing ukadas and men wearing formal robes. The whole square seems to bustle with life, people talking and enjoying themselves, the whole village enjoying the night time party…

"Amazing…" I mutter.

Maya nods.

"It is pretty amazing, that all the people of the village can come together to celebrate the changing of seasons, and the communal love we all share."

"It's nothing like the Hidden Village…" I mutter.

_There, most of the people are ninja, and they're all too busy going on with life and worrying about missions and the Village for them to stop and think about the changing of seasons, or how they're all bonded together, unless they're under attack from outside the village…_

"What's wrong Tsuzaku?" She asks. "You look troubled?"

I shake my head.

"I'm fine, just thinking about some things." I explain. "Anyway, we should be having fun, so let's." I suggest, and she nods.

The two of us start having fun, enjoying ourselves, going from shop to shop and having fun. It isn't until nearly an hour after we start enjoying ourselves at the festival that I see something out of the ordinary…

_What the hell is that?_

I see a man wearing long robes that hang down to his ankles, and I can tell that he's nervous from his posture. I see him duck into an alley, and I look at Maya.

"Can you excuse me a moment?" I ask, and the woman nods.

I leave Maya's presence and I go into the alley, and I can see the man standing there looking as though his attention is focused on doing something, and it appears to me that he's planting a bomb, or doing something that he shouldn't…

"Hey, what are you doing?" I yell, and I see him look at me, and then he panics, taking to the air.

I pull three kunai from my pouch, and throw the weapons with deadly accuracy, landing one knife into his head, and the other two in his heart. His body goes into the air 2 feet, and then falls to the ground, landing with a loud thud. As his body lands on the ground, I can see the robes open, and when I see the interior of the robes, my eyes go wide…

_Those looks like exploding tags, could it be…_

I approach the body, and I open the coat, seeing his body and clothing lined with exploding tags, at least 20 of them, if not more so, and I can feel my eyes shake at the sight…

_Tags, bombs, if all of these go off, then they'll kill nearly half of the village…_

I start making hand signs, and the last one leaves my hands over the tags, and I funnel my chakra through my hands, using a basic jutsu to seal exploding bombs that was taught to me in the academy. The jutsu requires intense concentration, and I focus a large amount of chakra into disarming the tags, and after 10 long minutes, I've disarmed the tags, and I kneel over the dead body, looking grim as I raise my right hand to my right ear.

"Kori, Chisato, Himeko, this is Tsuzaku." I say into the earpiece. "I've just found a man apparently setting bombs, and his entire body was laden with exploding tags, enough of them to destroy at least half the village." I pause. "I've disarmed them for the moment, but I can only assume that other operatives are here, attempting to kill these people."

I hear quick confirmations from each of them, and I walk back out of the alley, and I see Maya standing there, a concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong?" She asks. "Why were you in that alley for so long?"

I shake my head.

"It's nothing." I tell her, lying to her face. "We should get back to enjoying ourselves." I tell her.

She nods, though I can tell she's somewhat shaken by my short absence into the alley. I try to not think about it, or the fact that I'm on the lookout for any other suspicious people, and soon enough I see the suspicious people that I'm looking for, three men all dressed in loose clothing that doesn't look like it belongs at an autumn festival taking place at night…

"Everyone, I've found them, they're in the middle of the square."

I hear affirmations from the three other members of my team, and before long, I'm thinking of a method to take the three men out. I can only think of one jutsu, the black fire-empowered jab that I developed to defeat Mizu…

_It's a risk, and with the drain on my chakra, I'll only get one use at most out of the technique before I'm nearly running on empty. I still don't have any choice; I have to take at least 1 out before they can set their bombs off…_

I activate the Sharingan in my eyes, and I look at the three of them, feeling Maya put her hand on my shoulder.

"Tsuzaku, what's wrong?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"Maya, I need you to step back, this is going to get dangerous…"

I can feel her step back, and I close my eyes, calling on the 'Subete Sharingan' that involves somehow creating a fourth tomoe in my Sharingan. I put my hands together and wrap my right wrist in my left hand. I focus the chakra on my right hand, and I can feel the black flame beginning to build on my palm, surrounding my hand…

_I'll only get one shot at this, so I have to make it count…_

I manage to finish the technique, focusing enough black fire and chakra onto my hand to control the blaze for the short time that I can maintain it. I lock my eyes on one of the men closest to me, and I bend my knees for a moment, and then I take off at a run, using all my speed to charge forward as fast as I can, and I drive my right palm into the man, feeling my fingers land on his chest, the black fire shooting toward the man, the flame burning the flesh and searing the skin, burning the man as he leaps back, both from the impact and the force of the chakra…

"Two more left…" I mutter, pulling my right arm back, still feeling the tingling feeling running up and down my arm.

I see three bodies appear using body flicker, and the three ninja take down the last two people, and the whole incident is over in moments…

"It's done…" I mutter, letting my right arm hang down in front of me.

After that, the townspeople have questions about what we were doing there, and we do our best to answer them. Afterward, the festival continues, and with Maya knowing who we are, she tends to look at me differently. The next morning, the four of us set off for the Village Hidden in the Leaves, waving our good byes to the people of the small town.

"Make sure you stay healthy." Maya tells me. "I'll be sure to come see you in three years, when you return to your village."

I nod, having told the woman the story of the Yamikage, and the fact that three years from now I'd be returning to the Village, and that when I get back from this mission I'd be leaving the village, and I still haven't told Himeko or anyone else about my plans…

We head back toward the village, and we walk in silence each one of us wanting to get the trip over with as quickly as possible. We move quickly as the ANBU captain leads us all back toward the village. Even though it's a two day trip, we move quickly, with the goal of the mission in sight, it gives us all the motivation to make our way back to the village. I can see the Himeko is troubled by something, but I can't find the words to ask her what's wrong with her, nor can I manage to speak my plans for leaving village, even though it's still exactly what I intend to do. We manage to walk for a day and a half before the village comes into sight.

When that happens, it's like a jolt of adrenaline fills the group.

"It's the village!" Kori yells.

The four of us take off into a run, and before long, we're at the village, and once we're there, Kori stops the three of us.

"I'll make my report to Lord Hokage, you three should get some rest, you've all had a long couple of days, and you've performed admirably, and you all deserve to get some rest."

I nod my agreement, and we all separate, Himeko and I walking back toward her family's mansion…

"Well, it looks like the mission was a success." Himeko manages.

I shake my head.

"It was anything but a success." I explain. "Those men were nothing but a terrorist cell looking to kill people." I finish. "There will be countless more criminals just like them, who are fed up or angry at something, and they'll use it as an excuse to kill people."

Himeko shakes her head.

"As long as there are people like that, there will be people like us who will stop them." She tells me.

I sigh heavily, feeling the exhaustion of the last couple of days events catching up to me. Using the Amaterasu during the festival to stop those madmen exhausted most my chakra, and then walking for a day and half straight has exhausted me, and right now, all I want to do is sleep…

I feel my eyes start to get heavy, and my knees buckle, my strength fleeting…

"Tsuzaku…" I hear Himeko ask.

I open my mouth to answer, but the words don't come.

"TSUZAKU!" She yells in panic.

The next thing I know I feel something soft under my back, and I open my eyes to see Himeko leaning over me, a concerned look on her face…

"You're finally awake." She mutters, and I can see that tears once stained her eyes…

"Himeko…" I mutter, and I sit up, feeling my strength having returned.

"Do you feel any better?" She asks. "You suddenly passed out, and it scared me half to death…"

I nod my head, putting my hands on the bed.

"I feel fine; I guess I was just exhausted after our mission, and the fight against those terrorists."

"Are you sure?" She asks, her eyes showing true concern.

I nod again, giving her a smile.

"I appreciate your concern." I tell her. "But I swear I'm fine."

She nods her understanding.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you…" She mutters, and I can see that she means what she says.

I shake my head, trying to quell her fears.

"I'm fine; nothing's going to happen to me." I tell her.

_Too bad I don't know that for a fact…_

"Still…" She begins, and I throw the covers off.

_I can't just leave the village like this, I should say good bye to everyone, and especially thank Himeko mom for her allowing me to live here. Plus, I should try and talk to Chisato, maybe somehow explain to her what I'm doing, and the fact that I'll be gone…_

"Himeko, can I speak to your mom, or is she too busy?" I ask the girl, and I see her look at me sideways a moment.

"Mom…?" She asks, and I nod.

"Yeah, I'd like to talk to her, if I can." I respond, and I see her nod.

"I think she can take some time to talk to you Tsuzaku." She says, smiling. "She's usually in her room when she isn't involved in meetings that have to do with the clan, and I believe she's there now." She tells me.

"Please, lead the way, Himeko." I ask, and she nods, getting off the bed and walking toward the door.

I hop off of the bed and onto my feet, and I follow Himeko out of the room and into the hallway. She leads me through the Hyuga mansion as we head toward the clan leader's bedroom. As Himeko leads me toward the room, I can't help but think of all the things the girl and I have been through, and I sigh lightly at it. As we walk down the hall, I see Neji step out into the hall, and as soon as his eyes see me, I can feel the pure dislike the man feels for me, living here at his home for free, taking advantage of my assignment to Himeko's team to freeload with the people here…

_Well bud, tomorrow I'll be leaving this home and the village, so you won't have to worry about seeing me…_

I shift my body to walk past the man, and I don't see him move from the doorway as he watches me walk past him, heading toward the clan leader's room. Himeko keeps walking, apparently either ignorant of her cousin's distaste, or simply choosing to ignore it rather then dignify it with a response…

She stops in front of a large double door, and she reaches up, knocking on the door three times, and I hear her mother's voice from beyond the door.

"Tsuzaku wants to talk to you, are you free mom?" Himeko asks.

"He wants to talk to me?" I hear her mother's voice from beyond the door, and Himeko nods.

"Yeah, it sounds like it's something important to him…" Himeko says, and she looks at me, and I nod.

"All right, show him in…" Hinata says, and Himeko nods, opening the door.

"Go on in Tsuzaku…" She tells me.

I nod and I walk into the room, and I hear Himeko close the door behind me. Looking into the clan leader's room, I see her sitting on the bed, her legs crossed in front of her with her hands on her knees.

"Can I help you, Tsuzaku?" She asks, and I nod, standing there with my arms at my sides.

"Yes, I want to talk to you about what I'm going to do…" I begin, and I see her look at my curiously.

"What are you planning to do?" She asks.

"I'm leaving the village tomorrow, and I wanted to thank you for everything you've done." I say, bowing politely.

She looks at me with a surprised look on her face.

"You're leaving the village?" She asks. "Why would you want to do that?"

"I need to train, and I can't get the most out of my training if I'm here." I tell her. "I need to be alone, so I can develop my powers and do what I have to do."

"Have you told my daughter?" She asks, and the question sends a spike into my chest.

"No…" I mutter, looking down at the floor.

"Do you ever intend on telling her about this?" She asks. "I don't think it would be fair for you to just leave the village without telling her." She explains.

I nod.

"I know; it's just that when I think about telling her that I'm going to leave, I feel like I'm going to hurt her." I explain.

She shakes her head.

"My daughter is a lot stronger then you think she is, and even if you do hurt her, as long as you come back, I'm sure she'll be all right with it."

"I just, I don't want to hurt her, with Ishikawa treating us the way he does, and with everything that's happened these last few days, I don't know if she'll be able to handle my leaving…" I explain.

Hinata shakes her head.

"I can tell that you care deeply for my daughter, and I know that you'll find a way to tell her about this." She says.

I nod solemnly, and then I turn toward the door.

"Thank you Lady Hinata, thank you for letting me stay at this home, and I'll return when I'm ready, I swear on that." I tell her, and I see her nod.

I leave the room, and I see Himeko is no longer standing near the door, and I can't see her at all anymore. I sigh lightly as I walk toward the front door, and once I get to the front door, I see that my shoes are waiting there, and I slip my feet into them, my next goal already in mind…

_I should go see Chisato, try and hammer some of this out, and explain to her everything that's happened…_

I leave the mansion, and I start walking toward Chisato's home, having seen her go back and forth enough to get a good idea just where the girl lives…

It takes me 20 minutes to walk toward her home, and I see it's a stereotypical house in the village. I knock on the wooden door, and the door slides open, a tall woman in her mid thirties stands in the doorway. The woman is skinny, with long blonde hair that hangs down to her mid back, and she's a beautiful woman, and I can tell where Chisato herself gets her looks from…

_This must be Mrs. Shiriyuki, Chisato's mother…_

"Mrs. Shiriyuki?" I ask, trying to confirm my suspicions.

I see her nod.

"Yes, that's me…" The beautiful blonde says. "Can I help you with anything?" She asks.

I nod.

"I'd like to speak to your daughter, Chisato, can I do that, or is she not home?" I ask, quietly hoping for the latter.

"She's up in her room, should I go get her for you?" Chisato's mother asks, and I nod.

"If you would, I'll wait out here…" I tell her.

15 minutes later, I see the wooden door slide open, and Chisato steps out into the street, looking at me with a calm expression in her eyes.

"Tsuzaku, what are you doing here?" She asks, her tone telling me she's surprised.

"I wanted to tell you I'm leaving the village, and I'll be gone for the most of the next 4 years." I tell her. "I'm going to train to master my powers and get stronger, and I just wanted to say I appreciate everything you've done, as part of our team, and as a Shinobi." I tell her.

I hear her scoff.

"You think I did what I did for you?" She asks, and I shake my head.

"No, but even though you may not like me, I know that you and Himeko are going to be together for the next few years, and I want you to try and help her train as best you can." I tell her.

She looks at me, and I see skepticism in her eyes.

"Have you even told her about this crap?" She asks, and I shake my head.

"No, I haven't told her yet, but I'm going to tell her sometime…"

She turns around and puts her back to me.

"Whatever Tsuzaku, if that's all you came here to say, then you did nothing but waste both of our time." She tells me.

The girl walks back into her house without another word, and I stand there a moment in stunned silence.

_So, it looks like she's started to feel resentment toward me. I guess it's to be expected, she doesn't want to be treated like she needs protecting, and yet that's all I've ever done to her since I first met her…_

I walk away from her home with a fresh perspective on my team mate, now having seen more into her character in the last five minutes then I have in the last five days. Walking down the street, I put my hands in my pockets, and I think about what she said to me, and how she never really opened herself up to me, and she only acted the way she acted because it was part of the mission, and if a ninja dies on a mission it's usually considered a failure on the part of the Jounin and the other two Genin to allow their comrade to die…

_I guess her and I can never really be comrades, not with the way things are now. If I leave, it's bound to make her happy, since everything I do seems to grate on her nerves, but when I return, will she even care, or will she try and fight me? If I leave things the way they are now, will her feelings of dislike mature and turn and into hatred? I can't tell her how to feel, but it just doesn't seem right that she should despise me so, when I've done nothing wrong…_

I would remain lost in my thoughts for days on end, were it not for my eyes seeing a familiar face walking down the other side of the street, a face I saw only recently, and have spent a lot of time with, the face of the ANBU code named Kori, wearing her civilian clothes now, apparently on a short reprieve from missions from the Hokage…

Immediately the pink haired woman recognizes me as I walk by her, and I feel her hand reach out, grabbing my left shoulder, somehow gentle, yet firm…

"Hold on…" She begins, stopping me in my tracks, and I turn to look at her over my left shoulder, my eyes darting down to her hand as the older ANBU removes it from my shoulder.

"Do you need something from me?" I ask, not even knowing the girl's real name.

"I've been meaning to track you down…" She begins. "I heard that you were living in the Hyuga mansion, but when I went there, the person who answered the door said you'd stepped out, without word as to where you went."

I nod.

"Yes, I went to see my other team mate, Chisato Shiriyuki, I wanted to discuss something with her." I explain. "I've done that now, and I'm on my way back to the Hyuga home."

The girl gains a sudden air of uncomfortable-ness, and I wonder if I'm just seeing things as I see her eyes dart to the ground a moment, and then come up again, a resolve filling them, as though something were troubling the pink haired ANBU in her own mind.

"Do you have some time?" The woman finally asks.

I raise my eyebrows cautiously, wondering just what the woman is getting at.

"I do…" I respond, my voice showing my suspiciousness.

"Good…" She says, reaching out and grabbing my right arm, gripping my hand with more strength then I care to think about. "Come with me." She says in a no-nonsense tone, and I know better then to try and object…

The ANBU woman leads me through the streets until I find myself standing in front of a local tea house. I look at the sign, and then I look to the ANBU woman, who has released my hand, though while she was leading me through the street, she looked like a mother guiding a child…

_No, this woman isn't my mother, if she were; I wouldn't be an orphan, I'd have a parent, but I don't…_

The depressing thought must show through on my face, and I hear the woman's voice wisp into my ears.

"Let's go inside, the tea here is the best, and I want to talk to you about some things." She tells me, motioning for me to go inside.

I nod once, walking inside the tea house followed closely by the ANBU shinobi. Inside I see there are wooden tables with booths lining 3 of the four walls of the dining room, with tables scattered throughout the large, 100 square foot dining room. I hear the gentle sounds of kabuki music being played, and I look to see a small music area, with musicians gently playing melodies that combined with the low soothing lighting give the place a calming atmosphere.

The ANBU woman leads me to one of the empty booths against the wall farthest from the musicians, and as she does, I look around to see the place isn't that busy, but then again, it's in the middle of the day, and many people are still busy, out doing their errands or whatnot.

We sit down across from each other, and I notice her somewhat relaxed here, and judging from her posture and body language, I'd say she visits this place a lot, and they probably know her on a first name basis here…

_Maybe the server will recognize her, and he'll let her name slip, and I'll learn whatever this woman's name is…_

At first, the two of us sit in silence, an uncomfortable mood beginning to build between us…

"What shall I get for you today?" I hear a teenaged male voice, breaking the mood between the ANBU woman and I, and I look to see a young man dressed in dark brown formal robes, his hair styled and neatly combed, a small note pad in his left hand, a pen in his right…

"I'll have the Jade Chamomile." Kori says, naming the type of tea she wants brought to her.

The server's eyes glance to me, and I have no idea, so…

"I'll have the same, please." I say, and I see him nod.

"Thank you very much…" He says, bowing politely, and then walking away.

I look back to see the ANBU woman wearing a slightly surprised expression on her face.

"You drink Jade Chamomile?" She asks, and I shake my head.

"I've never had it, but I have no idea what kind of tea I do like, since I normally drink water, so I just figured I'd try whatever you were having." I admit.

"Well, I guess I'm to blame for that…" She says. "I didn't ask if you even drink tea…"

I wave my hand dismissively.

"Its fine, and you said earlier you wanted to talk to me about some stuff, so what do you want to talk about?" I ask.

She looks down, suddenly a somber expression on her face.

"I wanted to ask you…about your parents…your real…parents…" She says.

"My real parents…?" I mutter, and she nods.

"I was wondering if you could remember anything about them, like what your father looked like, or who your mother was…"

I shake my head.

"The earliest memories I have are of being with my foster father and mother." I tell her, referring to the Green Beast of Konoha who raised me.

"You really can't remember anything about your real mother, or your real father?" She asks, and I shake my head again.

"As far as I can tell you, my foster parents are my real parents." I tell the woman. "I have absolutely no memory of the woman who bore me or the man responsible for bringing me into this world…"

"Well then, what about your Sharingan?" She asks. "Do you know anything about the family that bore it?"

I shake my head.

"Other then the fact that nearly all of them are dead, and they were called Uchiha, I have no idea about it." I tell her, and I see her nod.

"That figures as much…" She begins. "The Sharingan is/was the kekkei genkai of the Uchiha clan, one of the most powerful shinobi families in the history of the ninja world." She tells me. "The Uchiha clan, along with the Senju clan, whose leader became the First Hokage, founded this village, and for a long time, the Uchiha remained the elite of the village, surpassing even the Hyuga clan."

"If they were so great, what happened to them all?" I ask.

"They were all murdered, all but one, by one of their own." She tells me.

I raise my eyebrows.

"You mean; one of the clan killed all of his family?" I ask, and the girl nods.

"The one that did it was called Itachi…" She tells me. "He was an ANBU ninja at the time, and it's believed that he killed Shisui Uchiha, another member of the clan, a week or more before he wiped the remainder of the clan out." She tells me. "He only spared one member of the entire family, and that was his little brother…" She tells me. "Itachi spared him, and to this day, no one knows why he did, save for maybe his little brother…"

"And that boy…" I begin. "Do you think he's the one I got my Sharingan from?"

The ANBU woman nods.

"Some time after Itachi wiped out the clan, he fought against his little brother." She tells me.

She pauses as the server brings the tea in two small stone cups, and sets them in front of each of us, the green liquid giving off steam as he places the cup in front of me. Without another word, he bows and politely leaves, going off to another table as the ANBU woman continues her story.

"You see, the younger brother was filled with a desire for revenge, to kill his older brother for murdering his parents as well as the rest of his family." She explains. "That drive caused him to leave the village, and despite several attempts at retrieval, he never did return." She explains. "We only know that Itachi and his younger brother fought, and when all was said and done, the only one left alive was the youngest brother, having finally killed his older brother."

"If he succeeded in killing his brother, why didn't he return to the village?" I ask. "Surely he could've convinced the Hokage that what he did was for a valid reason, and he wanted to rebuild the clan…" I comment, and she shakes her head, taking a sip of the tea.

"We don't know…" She tells me, setting the cup down. "You should drink before it gets too cold…" She tells me, and I nod, taking a sip of the hot beverage.

The tea is surprisingly good, a natural herbal blend that warms from the inside, and I enjoy the flavor of the tea, taking slow sips as the ANBU woman begins talking again.

"For a long time, it seemed as though the youngest Uchiha disappeared, and then, 12 years ago returning shinobi found your baby body outside the gate to the village, and they brought you here, and now, you've become a Genin, and you've managed to master your Sharingan, a new Uchiha…" She says, and I take the tea from my lips, shaking my head slowly.

"I'm not an Uchiha…" I tell her, a solemn tone to my voice. "And from what you just told me, I don't want to be connected to that clan in any way." I tell her.

I see her face contort into a questioning expression.

"Why not…?" She asks. "The Uchiha were one of the most powerful clans in the village, why wouldn't you want to be one of them?" She asks.

"You said yourself that one of their own killed off all the others." I respond. "If you were me, would you want to be associated with a clan that birthed a psychotic person so powerful he was able to wipe out an entire clan of 'elite' ninja on his own?" I ask, and I see her expression shift to a thoughtful one.

"I suppose you're right…" She responds, a mournful tone to her voice. "I wouldn't want to be associated with a clan like that either, if you put it that way…" She says, and I nod.

"That's why I keep telling people my name is Sasaki, I don't want to be associated with the Uchiha, I wasn't raised as an Uchiha, I was raised as Sasaki, an orphan child, regardless of what my blood says, I'm a Sasaki, not an Uchiha."

The ANBU woman nods, taking another sip of her tea, and I do so as well, putting the cup to my lips, enjoying the tea, feeling a calm soothing my body as I drink the substance.

"Listen, Tsuzaku…" She begins, and I look up from the drink, paying attention to the ANBU woman's words. "Whatever happens, I want you to remember what you just told me, that you're a Sasaki, regardless of what your blood says, and regardless of what other people tell you." She says. "I fear that in time, the man whose blood you inherited will come looking for you, and I'm afraid that he'll try and turn you against this village, against everyone in it."

I shake my head, Himeko's voice coming to mind.

"If I ever see the bastard that abandoned me…" I begin, clenching my right fist, shattering the cup in my hand, the hot liquid spilling out onto the table, but I don't feel the heat of the tea over the anger beginning to boil in my blood. "I swear to you that I'll wring his neck with my own two hands."

Needless to say, after that, the server quickly shows up with a towel, cleaning up the spilled tea, and the ANBU woman pays the bill, and we both leave the tea house, going our separate ways, the anger percolating in my blood for half of the walk back to the Hyuga mansion, but after a while I calm down, and I remember seeing the concern on the girl's face when she spoke, and the strange chill I could see her undergo as I talked about squeezing the life from my father's body…

_I guess it would be strange, but judging from all that, I'd say that woman has some experience with the younger brother of that Itachi bastard. The way she talked about those events, and the tone she used when she asked about my biological parents, she has to have some sort of involvement with that guy…_

Before long, I find myself standing in front of the Hyuga mansion, and I nod to the guard on duty, a member of the branch family, as I walk into the house. I don't see Neji, Hinata or Himeko, or the clan leader's younger sister Hanabi as I walk back to my room, and I close the door, wondering just how I'll be able to explain to Himeko my desire to leave the village…

_I don't know how I'll be able to tell her that I'm leaving her here, and I don't want her to come with me. How can I just tell her that she can't come with me, and I need to learn to master the abnormal abilities that are present within my eyes, every time that thing inside me comes out and uses those powers, I can tell that she grows more and more afraid of the demon each time… _

The door to my room opens, and I see Neji Hyuga standing in the doorway. He looks at me, and I see a stern expression on his face.

"What're you…" I begin, but the older man cuts me off.

"You're planning on leaving this village tomorrow morning, are you not?" The older man asks, and I nod, already knowing how he knows about the whole deal…

_He and Hinata are really close, more like brother and sister then actual cousins, and it's kinda creepy when I think about it actually. _

"Lady Hinata told you, didn't she?" I ask, and the older man nods.

"Yes, she told me that you plan to leave the village to hone your skills, but you haven't yet told her daughter, the reason Lady Hinata allowed you to live in this house, yet." He says, and I nod again.

"I haven't told Himeko, you're correct in that…" I tell him. "I want to tell her, but it's just that I don't know if I can make her understand…"

"Lady Himeko is a strong person; she is heir to this clan not only in name, but in strength as well." He explains. "Of her generation, the Byakugan is most powerful in her, and her skills with it defy her years." He tells me.

"Skill with the Byakugan doesn't really help me." I tell him. "Regardless of her ability as a shinobi, we're both still 12 year olds, and I don't think Himeko has that many friends, so for me to tell her I'm going away for four years, after we've developed a bond between us…"

"If the bond between you is as strong as you believe it to be, then the passing of time will not affect it." He tells me. "Bonds between people who are precious to each other can weather even the most difficult times."

I nod, feeling the honest in the man's words.

"I don't believe Himeko would be the type to choose a weak minded person to be with, nor would she want someone who isn't precious to her living with her in her own home."

"I guess you're right…" I admit, though I still don't know how I'm going to tell Himeko that I'm leaving the village…

The older man looks me over, and then he turns back toward the door.

"I've said my piece; I'll leave you to ponder it." He says, and he leads, closing the door behind him.

I lie down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, my mind churning.

_The Yamikage are taking a four year reprieve to rebuild their forces and recover the power they lost in the attempted coup de tat in the waterfall village and in the attack on the Hidden Leaf. Because of that, I've got four years to get stronger, to the point where I can fight that Jounin on an equal level…_

_I don't know if I can even accomplish what I'm going to set out to do, with this thing inside me, if I can learn to harness his powers, I'll become a force to be reckoned with, but if I can't learn to harness the full power of that black flame and that genjutsu, along with the full capabilities of my Sharingan, I won't be worth anything in the coming struggle against the Yamikage…_

_That, and then there's the whole situation with the ninja that left Konoha, the 'last Uchiha' that Kori talked about so reverently when we were in that tea house. If she's right, and he is my father, and he is indeed going to come looking for me, then I no doubt have to get stronger. Whoever that bastard is, he has no honor to leave his own child and abandon them without even so much as a note explaining why he did what he did. I'll wring the bastard's throat, even if it's the last thing I do…_

My mind keeps going, and before long, I don't even realize that I slip off into unconsciousness…

The next thing I know, I'm standing before the door to the cell, and I see the figure in shadow beyond the bars. I see him glaring at me with the Sharingan in his eyes, and I can tell that he seems somewhat irritated at something…

"So, you plan on trying to master my powers, the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan?" He asks, and I nod.

"Whatever it is you can do, if you can do it, then so can I!" I respond, and I see him scoff.

"You honestly think you're capable of gaining my powers?" He asks. "You have no idea what I'm really capable of, what you've seen is just a minute sample of the power I wield."

"If you're so great, what are you doing sealed up inside my body?" I ask.

"It's that bastard's fault I'm here!" He responds, anger filling his already evil sounding voice. "He couldn't kill me, so he put me here!"

"Whatever you're talking about, I don't care." I tell him. "I'm going to gain your powers, and when I do, I'll return to the village, and then I'll put an end to the Yamikage."

He scoffs once more.

"I'd like to see you even begin to fathom the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan…" He tells me.

"We'll see about that, won't we?" I ask as the vision begins to fade…

A moment later, I open my eyes, and I glance at my watch, seeing that it's early the next morning still, and I don't even know if Himeko will be awake yet or not. I know that today is the day I have to leave the village, before Ishikawa can think of a reason to keep me here, or Himeko gets wind of this and plans something when I try to talk to her…

_With her Gentle Fist, she could knock me out and then tie me up or something to keep me here, but I don't think she's the type of person to do something like that. I know that if I can just talk to her about this whole thing, then she'll understand, and everything will be all right, I hope…_

I get up, heading to the bathroom; I take a quick shower, cleaning myself off as I find a pair of clothes in the locker that match the others I wear, my shinobi uniform, so to say. I dress quickly, tying the headband onto my forehead, I glance at the mirror, my hair combed after I dried it in the bathroom, and I nod, looking presentable. I leave the bathroom and then I leave my room, moving out into the hall, I can see sunlight barely beginning to creep into the windows of the hall, and I walk the halls, my bare feet gently resonating against the wooden floor. Before long, I find myself standing in the open air hallway that opens into the courtyard of the mansion, and in the courtyard, I see something wholly unexpected…

Hinata stands in the courtyard, her Byakugan activated, the veins around her eyes bulging as she stares at the person across from her, her own daughter. Himeko stands in a similar fashion, both of them in a Gentle Fist stance, an air of calm between them, unlike the sessions of her training I've seen with Neji…

_With him, I can always feel a sense of superiority ebbing from him, as though he doesn't know how to teach what he's learned to the next generation, but now, with these two, there's no sense of superiority, just a mother and daughter, having a friendly sparring session…_

Almost as if on cue, I see the two of them begin, and immediately I throw the word 'friendly' out the window as a means to describe the session between them. The two Gentle Fist users attack each other with full chakra strikes, although I can tell that each of them aren't trying to mortally wound their opponent, even without my Sharingan, I can see the chakra the two of them are emitting from their strikes as each move sent toward an opponent is either deflected or dodged. I watch the two of them, almost as if the rest of the world were in slow motion, with the two of them moving at normal speed, but I realize that they're moving much faster then the rest of the world, and my eyes are simply sharp enough to keep track of the movements, even without my kekkei genkai…

Then, that all changes when I see Himeko deflect a palm strike, and then assume a stance I've seen her hardly ever use since I've known her…

_That stance, it's similar to the one where she attacks the 64 points on a person's body, blocking off their chakra…_

I watch as the daughter of the Hyuga clan goes into motion, suddenly the chakra in her blows vanishing as she yells out numbers, going to 64, and then I watch as her hands move into another motion, her hands moving in a blur of 64 more strikes, delivering the last blow with a palm thrust with her fingers open, her fingers coiled in such a way as she can hit the points along the chakra coil system with each finger tip…

With that, the match between the two of them ends, and I see the leader of the Hyuga clan smile happily as both of their Byakugan fade...

"The sessions with Neji have done wonders for your skills Himeko." She says, bowing to her daughter respectfully as Himeko does so in return.

"Thank you, but I'm hardly worth your praise, I'm not nearly as strong or as skilled as you and Uncle Neji are…" Himeko says, standing up straight, and I see Hinata smile.

"You're a lot stronger then I was at your age…" She tells her daughter. "I'd say you more resemble your cousin then you do me right now." She explains. "Though, I'm sure given time you'll surpass both Neji and I." Hinata tells her. "You've got all the blessings of our clan, and the Byakugan flows strongly in your veins." She says, and I see her turn, looking toward me. "It seems we had a spectator…" She says her tone not the least bit angry.

I bow in apology anyway, and I see Himeko turn toward me as my head comes back up.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to intrude…" I say, apologizing to the two of them, knowing that some of the Hyuga are border-line insane with keeping the secrets to the Gentle Fist just that, secret…

"You weren't intruding…" Hinata speaks for her daughter. "I was just having a friendly exercise session with my daughter, and I wanted to see just how well her training has been going, and I'd say it's been going well." She says, looking again to her daughter, and I see Hinata smile. "I do have business to attend to, so I'll take my leave." She says, bowing once again to her daughter.

Himeko returns the gesture, and then Hinata walks away from her, walking past me, I can tell that she's leaving intentionally, to try and give me an opportunity to explain to her daughter what I want to do, and she really does have business to attend to…

"Well, what should we do now?" Himeko asks, walking toward me, and I see a light sweat has formed on her forehead.

_Well yeah, with everything she's done, it's no wonder she isn't sweating profusely…_

"Um, do you want to take a quick shower?" I ask her, trying to find excuses, and I see her smell arm, and I see her nod.

"I probably should, shouldn't I?" She asks.

10 minutes later, I'm standing outside the door to her room, leaning against the wall, my arms crossed and my eyes closed. My mind churns, trying to find a way to begin the conversation with her about my leaving the village, but every idea that pops into my head, I refuse because I believe it either sounds stupid, or it's sugarcoating the truth, and I tell myself that I don't need to do that to her…

_She'll understand, I know she will, but what I'm afraid of is if I put in the wrong way, she'll react like I'm leaving for good, and she'll hit me with some Gentle Fist maneuver and knock my lights out…_

Then, I hear the door slide open a crack, and my eyes pop open, looking toward the door, I hear Himeko's voice from inside the room, but I don't see her standing in the doorway.

"Tsuzaku, can I talk you?" She asks, and I nod, not moving.

"Sure, about what?" I ask.

"Um, can you come in here first; I don't want people to overhear…" She asks.

Immediately, the red light goes off in my head, telling me that I should get out of this situation, and if proceed any farther, I do so with the likely odds of getting killed. The hair stands on the back of my neck, and my eyes go wide at what she's asking me to do…

"You want me, in your room, after you've just showered?" I ask, and I hear her mumble a positive response.

I sigh heavily, undoing the headband, I place it over my eyes and I tie the knot on the back of my head, cutting off my vision forcefully, rather then close my eyes and risk my own curiosity in peeking. I find the handle to the door by feel, and I open it, going inside, I manage to close the door, and I stand there, my eyes showing me nothing but darkness…

"What're you doing?" I hear Himeko ask, but I see nothing.

"I don't want people to think I'm trying to look at you while you're indecent, and I don't want people thinking we're doing things we shouldn't be doing together." I tell her.

I hear her sigh.

"Okay…" She begins. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about this whole four year reprieve the village is getting from the Yamikage…" She says; her tone telling me she's uncomfortable with it.

_Thank god she brought it up; this is going to save me a bunch of trouble!_

"What about it?" I ask.

"Well, I know that I'll have to continue my training, working to improve my abilities both as a shinobi of the Leaf and as a Hyuga, but I don't know about you, what do you plan on doing during the next four years?" She asks. "The Yamikage leader seems to be after you now, and I think that you most of all will need to improve, if our village is going to survive."

I nod.

"For that reason, I'm going to leave the village." I tell her.

"But…" I hear her try to argue.

"Himeko, you said yourself that I need to improve, that I need to get stronger if the village is going to survive, and if I train here, I'll always be afraid that I could you or someone else if I manage to unleash my powers." I tell her. "It's only when I'm alone that I can truly learn to control them."

The next thing I know, I feel something tug at the knot on the back of my head, and before I can protest, I feel the headband fall away to reveal Himeko standing in front of me, fully dressed and only a few inches shorter then I am, looking up at me, I see her right hand clutching the headband fresh from my forehead.

"I'm going to hold onto this…" She tells me. "So, you have to come back to get it, and…" She trails, going up on her tip toes, she brings her lips to mine, and for a split second I feel her lips against mine, and then she pulls back, and I see her blushing as she looks away embarrassed. "You have to get that too…" She says.

I smile at the girl.

"I will be back, and four years from now, I'll be someone worthy of that kiss." I tell her, and I see her smile.

"I'm going to miss you…" She says, and I nod.

"I'll miss seeing you too Himeko, but you've got my headband, and I've got what you've just given me to remember you, and I won't forget it." I tell her.

She keeps blushing, and I turn toward the door out of her bedroom, having not even really paid attention to the room at all, only the other occupant…

"I'm going to go pack, and once I'm done, I'm going to head out." I tell her, and she nods.

Without a word, I walk to my room, grabbing a backpack there, I stuff clothes into it, and she watches me silently, holding onto my headband as I prepare to leave the village. Then, after I finish packing, she follows me out of the room and into the kitchen, and I grab several ration bars from inside a cabinet, throwing them into the pack, and then, after I finish packing and zip the large gray bag up, I hear her speak.

"I'm going to train too, I'll get stronger so I'll be able to protect my mom, and my family, and you…" She mutters.

I smile, approaching the girl, and I embrace her.

"Thank you Himeko…" I whisper in her ear. "And I will be back."

I hear her sob, and she nods.

"I'll be waiting here." She says. "Make sure you come back."

I give a smile, and no other verbal assurances. I walk around her, and she follows me down the hallway and through the door of the mansion out into the village. The two of us walk together toward the village gate, and as we walk, I can only think that this isn't going to be the last time I see this girl, and then she stops at the village gate, and I look back at her.

"I'll be back." I tell her, my tone reassuring. "Count on it."

I see her smile, and with that, I leave the village, waving to Himeko as I leave, and as the village leaves view, I look forward, and a single thought comes into my mind.

_Today will not be the last day I see that village, or her smiling face…_


	12. Chapter 12

(A/N: Well, this is the first chapter of 'Part 2.' It's kinda long, and a lot happens, so pay attention. Yes, I know that Tsuzaku is wearing an Akatsuki cloak, and all of that has a story based reason for it. What that reason is, I can't say here, as it would MAJOR spoilers. I've noticed that multiple reviews have come up, and all of them seem to be good, so I'll keep writing this thing, and hopefully more good words will come in. Anyway, you're probably sick of reading this now, so go ahead and read on, with the start of the Chronicles of Tsuzaku: Part 2…)

Chapter 12: Four Years…

3 years and 10 months have passed since the day I left the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and now, I stand atop a cliff, the sun bright in the sky, mid day still several hours away. Below me, I can see the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the valley full of trees, giving the village its name. As I look, I feel the wind gently blow; pulling at the long black cloak I now wear…

The four years have changed me. I'm taller then I was before, having grown roughly 8 inches since I left the village. I wear similar clothes, a dark black vest and a pair of black pants, the same type of shoes rest on my feet. My hair has grown out some, no longer short and above my eyes, I've parted it, my bangs extending mid way down my cheek. My face remains relatively unchanged, though aged slightly with my cheek bones becoming well defined on my skin. My form has grown proportionate to my height as well. Over all of my clothes, I wear a long black cloak that hangs down to my knees, with red clouds painted on it. I wear a pyramid shaped hat on my head that covers my eyes when I tilt it low enough, and I normally keep it low enough that it hides my eyes. The Sharingan now rests in my eyes, and I normally keep the dojutsu active all the time, having gotten used to keeping it on…

_For some reason, I feel that keeping the Sharingan on all the time is more natural then when I don't have it activated, it's weird…_

As I look down at the village, I look up at the sun, and I sigh.

"Raika..." I call out to the person hiding nearby, and in a moment, the 15 year old girl appears next to me.

The girl I called Raika kneels behind me, she wears the same black cloak I wear with red clouds painted on them. She has dark red hair, the same color of blood, with a black hidden cloud headband that wraps around her forehead, her hair pulled up and over the back of the headband, hanging down to just above her neck. Her eyes match her hair, and her face is smooth, a contrast to 2 years prior, when I first met her. Her frame is similar to mine, and she's 30 pounds lighter then I am. Under the cloak, she wears a sleeveless black shirt, and a black mini skirt, with fishnets lining her legs. She wears the same blue ninja shoes so many other ninja wear, and her skin is smooth, the roughness of it gone away…

"Yes, sir…" She says; her head bowed in respect, kneeling on her right knee, her right fist against the ground, her left hand on her left thigh.

"Raika, I don't want you to follow me into the village." I tell her, leaving out a single word which doesn't need to be said.

_That phrase being 'obviously,' which means to stay out of sight._

She nods quickly.

"Yes, sir, I understand." She tells me.

"Raika, I mean it, I don't want you to follow me, the people of this place don't need to see you dressed as you are, and following me." I tell her.

She nods again.

"Yes, my lord." She responds.

I sigh again, shaking my head slowly.

"Raika, how many times must I ask you to refer to me by my name?"

"At least once more, my lord…" She responds, and I sigh again.

"Fine then…" I begin, giving up. "Just don't follow me." I tell her again, and she nods.

"Yes, my lord…"

With that, she disappears, and I stand there, wondering exactly where in the surrounding area that the girl chose to hide, and I know that with a slight effort, I could easily find her…

_With my Sharingan, I could easily find her; all I have to do is focus a small amount of chakra into my eyes, opening my mind to the heightened sense of vision…_

I shrug the thought off, and I start down the opposite side of the cliff as the village, and I walk down the diagonal far side of the cliff, stopping at the bottom of the cliff, I turn right and start toward the village, my feet crushing the grass under my feet. I walk slowly, and when I approach the village gate, I see two guards sitting at the gate, waiting for travelers to pass through, and when I arrive, one of the guards gets up and approaches me, stopping me by standing in front of me, impeding my path.

"Who are you?" He asks.

"Tsuzaku Sasaki, ID number O-30874." I explain.

The guard looks to the other centurion, and I see him glance down, and then up again, giving the second guard a nod.

"All right, you can pass." He tells me rather simply.

He stands aside, and I pull the hat farther down in front of my face, making sure to conceal my eyes as I walk. I start down the main street, looking around rather quickly as I see people going about their business along the street, and as I walk, memories flood back. I remember my younger days, before I entered the ninja academy, before life became complicated for me. I remember shopping with my foster parents, and I remember spending time on this street during the summer festival of the leaves and other celebrations within the village…

I shake my head to clear the memories, realizing that thinking back on the past isn't going to accomplish anything. As I walk, I see a teenage girl shopping at the market catches my eye…

She has long shoulder length blue hair, her facial features seem very familiar to me, and I see her clothing is similar as well. She wears a black shirt with a high collar. Her shirt has short sleeves, and she wears long black pants, a dark blue belt around her waist. I can see ninja sandals on her feet, and her headband resting around her neck, lying on her bosom. She wears a weapon pouch on her left leg, and she's blossomed since the last time I saw her, and she's grown taller as well, only an inch or two shorter then I am now…

I stop behind her, my left side several inches away from her back.

"You should try the apples." I say. "I've heard that they're delicious this time of year."

As I finish talking, I start to walk away, and I see her turn around at the corner of my eye.

"Tsuzaku, is that you?" I hear her ask.

_My suspicions were right, and it is her…_

"Sorry." I respond, lying through my teeth. "You've got the wrong person."

I half turn to speak to her, and I can see that she doesn't believe what I've just told her.

"It is you…" She mutters.

I shake my head.

"I have no idea who this Tsuzaku person is." I say again, and I see her shake her head.

"You can't lie to me…" She begins.

She takes several steps, slowly, deliberately, and stops in front of me, less then 6 inches away from me. I see her smile as she arches her head back, bringing her lips to mine…

_Himeko…_

She pulls herself away after a brief moment, and then smiles.

"I knew it was you…" She mutters, opening her eyes, having never looked into my eyes.

"Himeko…" I mutter, and she smiles.

"I knew it was you." She says again.

I shake my head.

"What if it wasn't?" I ask light heartedly. "You'd have just kissed a stranger."

She grins.

"No matter how you change your looks, there's one thing about you that you can't change." She responds, a smile on her face.

"And what's that?" I ask.

"Your scent…" She smiles.

I nod.

"I guess so." I explain.

"Can you wait here?" She asks. "I only have a little shopping left to do, and then we can go back home."

I nod again.

"Sure, go ahead and do what you have to."

She nods and starts shopping again, her movements much faster then they were before, a new motivation for her to finish her business. She moves rather quickly, finishing her shopping, and then returning to where I stand.

"I'm finished shopping, let's head back." She says rather happily.

I nod, and motion for her to lead, and she does so, taking a step ahead of me, and starting back toward her home. I follow her, and I see she's gained a rather happy step, her walk more energetic and happier, I really can't describe what's different about it, I just know.

"It's been so long." She says. "I almost didn't recognize you."

I grin under the hat.

"I recognized you the minute I saw you." I explain. "Even though it's been nearly 4 years, I still knew who you were."

"Must be part of that Sharingan you've got."

I shake my head.

"I'd never forget you…" I mutter, remembering what happened the morning I left.

She smiles happily, turning around and stopping, her hands behind her back, holding her bag.

"Well, do I look more womanly?" She asks, striking a short pose.

I nod.

"You have…" I respond. "You've grown into a beautiful woman."

She blushes.

"I don't know about that."

I shrug.

"It's only what I think, whatever that matters."

She turns around.

"Well, let's get going." She explains. "I've got something for you back at the house."

I nod my agreement, and the two of us walk through the streets, and I see older people staring at me as I walk by, even though I'm concealing the Sharingan, only the closest of observers would be able to eyeball it, they still stare and mutter amongst themselves, and I just shake it off.

_I don't know what their problem is, but they must recognize something about this cloak. I don't care what they think about it, I'm just wearing it because it feels comfortable._

We arrive at the Hyuga mansion without incident, and I see that the house hasn't changed in the 4 years that I've been gone. She leads me inside, and I don't see either Neji or Hinata as I walk toward her room, and she stops me before I can enter.

"Just stand right there okay?" She asks. "I'll only be a second."

I note in my mind that she didn't drop the groceries off at the kitchen on her way as she enters her bedroom, and then a few moments later, emerges carrying a large piece of paper folded in thirds, and hands it to me, the paper rather thick, like something is inside it…

"Here." She says. "Lord Hokage gave me this the day after you left, and told me to hang onto it until you came back."

I open it, and inside I see a black leaf village headband, and I remove the headband from the paper, and I read the contents.

_Tsuzaku Sasaki, this letter is to inform you that you have been promoted to the Ninja rank of Chunin, congratulations, and continue to sharpen and hone your skills. You will now be a candidate for C and B rank missions, and your continued work for the sake of our Village Hidden in the Leaves is greatly appreciated…_

_It's a notice from the Sixth Hokage, apparently I've been a Chunin this entire time, and I never even thought about it…_

I look up to see Himeko smiling.

"Well, aren't you excited? We're both Chunin now." She says. "All of us passed the exam that day." She continues.

_All of us, I guess even Chisato was deemed worthy of being a Chunin…_

"I am happy." I explain. "I just didn't know I was a Chunin all these years, and I realize that it means very little in the grand scheme of life."

She shrugs.

"Well, whatever, but we're both Chunin now, respectable ninja within the village." She continues.

"I don't know if an increase in rank really means you get any more respect." I tell her.

She looks down at the headband, and then up to me.

"Why don't you put it on?" She asks. "Is there something wrong with the headband?" She continues. "I kept it in the same condition I received it in."

I shake my head, and I reach for the hat, removing it from my head, and setting it on the ground, revealing my older face to her, and the Sharingan in my eyes…

"Your eyes…" She begins. "Why do you have your Sharingan turned on?"

I shrug.

"It was during my training that I realized calling the Sharingan into my eyes uses more chakra then just keeping it constantly activated, and even then, I realized that I needed to train my chakra to be able to maintain both the constant use of the Sharingan, and also be able to fight and use my other jutsu without worry of running out." I explain, placing the headband on my head.

"So, you keep it in your eyes all the time?"

I nod, tying the headband behind my head.

"Yes, I do." I respond rather simply. "That way, I'm prepared in case anything happens, and the extra insight is always helpful." I explain.

She shrugs.

"Well, shall we go?" She asks. "The Village hasn't changed that much, but I'm sure Ishikawa would like to see you, to see how you've changed."

I nod.

"Sure, let's go." I say simply.

The two of us leave the hallway as I put the hat back on, letting it rest above my newly acquired headband…

_Well, at least I can still wear the hat, one thing that keeping my Sharingan active does is make people uncomfortable when I look at them…_

As we leave the house, she drops the groceries off in the kitchen, and I watch her put them away, the actions hurried now that she has something else to do. She finishes putting the food away, and then she leads me out of the mansion and into the village, toward the center. As we walk, the two of us talk.

"So, how have you been these last four years?" I ask, making conversation.

"I've been doing a lot of training, and I've learned a lot." She explains. "Mom and Cousin Neji have taught me a lot, and mom thinks that I should start introducing myself as the heir to the clan."

I raise my eyebrows questioningly.

"She really thinks you've improved that much?" I ask curiously.

She nods.

"Yeah, though mom has always thought that I should say things like that, even though I never really wanted to." She explains. "She's always encouraged me to do my best in whatever I do, and to excel at whatever I do in life, whether it's inherit the clan, or being a better person."

I nod.

"That's a lot like my foster parents, he always taught me to work hard and to believe in whatever I do with all my heart."

"So, what have you been doing all this time while you were gone from the village?" She asks. "I can tell that you've grown stronger…"

I nod.

"I trained and learned to do some powerful things." I explain. "I worked on my taijutsu, and further increased my speed and strength." I continue. "I also worked on increasing my chakra supply, and learned to maintain my Sharingan."

_I've done more then that, but I don't want to admit what I'm capable of, because honestly; part of my powers scares me to death._

"I can tell that you've improved, and I can also see that you've grown, both mentally and physically." She explains.

I give a light smile, and then a thought occurs to me.

"If you don't mind, where's Chisato?" I ask. "I would assume Ishikawa is off with a new squad, but where is Chisato?"

"Chisato…" She begins; a sad expression on her face.

I raise an eyebrow, remembering my last conversation with the girl before I left.

"Did she die?" I ask.

She shakes her head.

"Well no, she isn't dead, but well, she doesn't really want to see you…"

"Himeko, what're you doing here?" I hear a familiar voice from behind me.

I half turn toward the direction of the voice…

_That voice, could it be?_

I see a girl my age, with Platinum blonde, nearly white hair approach us. She wears a dark purple vest with a matching mini skirt. Her ninja vest is short sleeve, with white bandages around her feet, covering her calves down to her ankles, her headband wrapped around her left bicep. She's blossomed like Himeko has, though her proportions have outdone Himeko slightly, with her blue eyes like hard cold ice. She isn't wearing a ninja pouch, and I see a small bag at her side, and I realize the bag contains a scroll that allows her to summon the weapons she needs.

"Chisato, how are you?" Himeko asks, and the two of them hug lightly.

_It's like a reunion of two old friends…_

They finish the embrace rather quickly, and she turns to me.

"Himeko, who's your friend…" She asks, and I come to a quick decision.

"My name is Shiro Amakazu." I say, lying. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance…" I ask, trailing off, hoping she will introduce herself.

"I'm Chisato Shiriyuki, and I'm a friend of Himeko's." She explains. "We were squad mates when we were both Genin, how do you know her?" She asks, raising a suspicious tone to her voice as I pull the hat down.

"We met on a mission." I explain. "About a year ago, we were assigned to a squad together for a mission, we both survived, so we've sort of become combat buddies."

She raises her eyebrows in suspicion, and then turns toward Himeko.

"Is this true?" She asks, and Himeko nods.

"It is, we met during an infiltration mission, and we were forced to wait for over a day while the enemy searched for us." She elaborates, making it up as she goes.

Chisato nods and I smile inwardly.

"Your voice though…" She begins. "It almost reminds me of someone…" She says. "That and those clothes, they're hardly normal shinobi wear…"

"Well, I just like these clothes, and when I go on missions, I change." I tell her, lying some more. "Who does my voice remind you of?" I ask curiously, knowing the answer.

"A former squad mate." She says simply. "Someone I'd rather forget."

_Well, I wonder what it is I did to piss her off so well…_

"I'd imagine someone with that sort of emotional attachment to you must have earned that dislike, would you care to tell me why?" I ask.

She shrugs.

"Sure, if you care." She says.

"Shall we walk?" Himeko asks rather nervously, as if trying to stop Chisato before she explains in intimate detail why she now is disgusted at the thought of me.

"Sure." I respond. "Though, I'd still like to hear an explanation why you hate this person so much."

She nods.

"Yeah, let's walk." She says. "It's been a while since I took a relaxing walk around the village."

The three of us start walking, and I walk behind the two of them as they walk 2 steps ahead of me. They walk like good friends normally do, and I keep my distance, both to keep up the charade of not being involved intimately with either of them and to keep Chisato from noticing my Sharingan.

"So, what did this person do to you that make you hate him so?" I ask, bringing the topic up again.

"Well, where do I begin?" She asks. "First of all, he's one of the most conceited people I've ever met." She starts her complaining. "He acts like he's worthless, and yet he tries to maintain a relationship with Himeko." She continues. "Second, he has no respect for anyone, and doesn't care that other people worry about him." She continues. "Third, he has a strange monster of some kind inside of him, which he can't control, effectively meaning he can lose control of his own body to a creature that kills people without remorse or second thought." She pauses. "Fourth, he's about as emotional as a rock."

"Sounds like you hate him." I respond, and Himeko speaks up.

"Come on Chisato, he isn't that bad." She responds. "He's protected you multiple times, and was a major part in getting the three of us through the second stage of the Chunin exams."

Chisato shrugs.

"Yeah, but when the Yamikage attacked, and interrupted your match, where was he then?" She asks. "I'll tell you where he was, he was hanging on the back of that Hidden Mist ninja while she toyed with the leader of the Yamikage."

Himeko shakes her head.

"His chakra was drained, you know that." She explains. "If he hadn't done what he did, he would've been slaughtered." She explains. "And without his help, the Hidden Mist ninja would've probably died."

She shakes her head.

"Who really cares?" She asks. "He only did what he did for his own gain."

"But still, he did what he did, and it still counts, doesn't it?"

I see Chisato eye her.

"Don't tell me you still have that stupid crush on him!"

She nods.

"I still feel the same way about him since the day he left…" She says.

_Is she only saying that because I'm here, or is she being truthful about it? I can't detect any hint of falsehood in either her speech or her body language, so maybe she does mean what she's saying…_

"Shiro, hello, Konoha to Shiro…" Chisato says, and I blink twice, changing thoughts and cursing myself for getting lost in the daze.

"Yes, what is it?" I ask.

"Are you sure we've never met?" She asks. "I could swear that I've seen you before."

I shake my head.

"We've never met before this day." I lie simply. "I would remember someone like you."

I watch as she turns around, and the two of them continue walking. They make small talk as I follow them, and then, I see someone standing ahead of them, and I feel a groan begin in my stomach, realizing that while my ruse may have fooled Chisato, it will not fool the man ahead.

Ishikawa Masakazu, our old Jounin instructor, stands in the roadway, relatively unchanged in the last four years. He approaches us, and I see him recognize Chisato and Himeko.

"Hello you two…" He begins. "Who's your friend?" He asks.

"Ishikawa, this is Shiro Amakazu, a friend of Himeko's that she met on a ninja mission."

He raises his eyebrows, and looks me over.

"Really…" He mutters. "During these last four years, I've been keeping track of both Himeko's and Chisato's ninja missions up to this point, which includes all the other ninja on the missions assigned to them, and I've never heard of a Shinobi named Shiro Amakazu."

_Oh shit…_

Chisato spins around, and I see her eyes dart to Himeko, and then back to me.

"Who are you then?" She asks.

I look up, raising my head and pushing the hat up, revealing both my face, and the Sharingan in my eyes.

"Tsuzaku…" Both Ishikawa and Chisato ask, and I nod simply.

"Greetings…" I begin, but I'm cut off.

Chisato's fist flies at me, and I leap back, dodging the sucker punch thanks to the Sharingan, giving me ample warning of the incoming attack. Himeko stands by her, while Chisato moves in front of her, and I see her make quick hand signs…

_Still using the Mirugan I see…_

She activates the dojutsu, and I see her assume a stance identical to the one she used during the third round of the Chunin exams.

"Chisato!" Ishikawa scolds, but his words are too late.

She comes charging for me, and I see her movements, reading her like an open book. She thrusts her palm for my chest, and I move much faster then she expects, grabbing her right wrist and moving around her body, twisting her arm around to her back, making me look like a Jounin, and her nothing more then a rank Genin…

"You shouldn't try striking your allies." I say calmly. "And you especially shouldn't try fighting against someone when they're much stronger then you are."

She growls, letting loose her emotions.

"If you let go of my right arm, I'll show you just how powerful I am!"

I grin.

"Let's see, shall we?" I ask, releasing her arm and pushing her forward with a kick.

She stumbles at first, but manages to stay on her feet, and then she turns around, reassuming her stance.

"So, you read my movements, huh?" She asks. "Well, let's see you stop this!"

She starts making hand signs, and I've seen them before…

_That invisibility jutsu, how quaint, someone hasn't tried using a genjutsu on me in so long…_

I watch as she disappears, and I grin as I see her move. I watch as the chakra she emits bends the light around her body, and I can see through the technique, and I watch her charge, and at the last moment, I see her eyes go wide as I disappear into a veil of invisibility.

She stops in her tracks and looks around, and I hear her groan, the sounds only confirming what my eyes already tell me…

"It's over." I say simply, placing the kunai to her neck, and I watch as she undoes her genjutsu, and I do so as well a moment later, appearing behind her with a kunai pressed to her throat, the tip only a small amount of pressure away from piercing her carotid artery…

"How did you?" She asks, and I cut her off.

"I've developed my Sharingan to the point that I can instantly copy any Genjutsu used against me and turn it back on the user." I explain. "That invisibility technique of yours did nothing but waste your chakra in front of my eyes."

She groans again.

"I'd forgotten just how powerful those eyes of yours are." She explains. "But if you let me live, I swear I won't stop until I find a way to beat you."

"Beat me?" I ask a comic tone to my voice. "Chisato let me say this simply, as you are right now, you can't beat me, no matter what you do."

This only causes more anger and rage to build up within her.

"What's that mean?" She asks.

I lean in close.

"Right now, I'm only using a fraction of my abilities." I explain. "Had I been fighting you for real, you wouldn't have lasted 2 steps."

I can tell that she doesn't believe that, but I know otherwise.

"Tsuzaku, what are you doing?" I hear Ishikawa demand.

I look at him rather coldly.

"Defending myself…" I state rather calmly.

"Put the weapon down, unless you want to declare yourself an enemy of the entire village."

"I won't do so, until I know that this kunoichi will cease her hostilities."

Ishikawa looks at Chisato.

"Chisato, if you try anything like that again, I'll be the one you're fighting, understand?" He tells her, and she nods rather slowly, and I pull the knife away, returning it to my pouch.

"Well, isn't this just like old times?" I ask sarcastically. "It's like I never even left."

Ishikawa shakes his head.

"Lord Hokage wants to see you." He says. "He actually wanted to see you the minute you got back, so I figured you'd be back any day now."

I nod.

"Anyway, if the Hokage wishes to see me, then shall we get it over with, I really don't have time to be wasting around here if I don't have to." I explain.

He looks at me strangely.

"Lord Hokage is waiting atop the Ninja Academy." He explains.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Ishikawa leads the three of us toward the Ninja headquarters, and he leads us up the steps and to the top of the building, the large circular roof having a railing around it, and the kanji symbol for fire in the middle of it all, a black symbol against a red circle.

I see the Sixth standing there, wearing the long white robe a Hokage normally wears, and I see him wearing the green vest of a Shinobi underneath that, and as he turns around, I see he has a serious expression on his face.

"So, you've returned to the village Tsuzaku?" He asks, and I see him look me over. "What do you think you're wearing?"

I look down, and I shrug.

"I'm wearing this because I had a dream that I was wearing it, and I felt an urge to wear one, so I made it."

He raises his eyebrows.

"Well, you should consider changing your wardrobe." He explains. "The last people who wore those cloaks were a group of criminals that were all killed 20 years ago." He explains.

I shrug.

"That doesn't matter to me." I tell the Hokage. "I'm wearing this because I want to, whatever stigma that's attached to it makes no difference."

He gives me a strange, analytical look, as if trying to piece together a suspicion within his own mind…

_Judging from his body language, I'd say my wearing this cloak has made him very suspicious, to the point that the trust he'd once had in me as a Shinobi is wavering…_

"A test then…" He finally says after a long minute. "Of your abilities since you've been gone for so long…"

"Is it a test of just my abilities, or is it also a test of my loyalty?"

He shakes his head.

"I never said I suspected you of betraying our village and plotting to destroy it."

_You just did…_

"Whatever, let's get the test started then." I respond.

He grins.

"You'll be fighting me." He says. "Land one blow, and you'll pass the test, if you can't however, you're of no use to anyone in this village, if you haven't improved at least that much."

I smile, removing the hat from my head and holding it at my left side.

"Whenever you're ready…" I begin. "Feel free to attack me however you like."

He gives a smile.

"So, you're ready to die huh?"

He charges for me, his hands balled together, and I throw the hat up, glaring into his eyes, making eye contact as he charges. The hat spins in the air, and he stops in his tracks, leaping backward and to the left, as the hat falls back into my hand…

"What's wrong?" I ask him. "Where's the resolve to test my abilities?"

He stands up, trying to break the eye contact as I look at him, and I can see familiarity in his eyes…

_He's seen the Sharingan before, and he wanted to test me, to see if I'd try and copy his movements or not…_

"I'll show you my resolve." He says simply.

I watch as he raises his right arm and sticks it straight out, level with his shoulder. He points his palm to the sky, and I see him begin to concentrate his chakra, and I see a ball beginning to form in his right hand…

_He's using a ninjutsu, with no hand signs?_

I watch as he shapes and forms his chakra, forming it into a spinning sphere in his hand, as if doing such a thing were a mere triviality…

_He formed a ball of chakra without a single hand sign, and made it look so easy, no wonder he's the Hokage…_

"Try copying this!" He mutters.

I watch him vanish, and in the blink of an eye, my eyes follow his movements, like a blur of motion to the untrained eye, a normal eye wouldn't be able to follow the movement, even straining to do so, the technique is too fast for me to replicate, even at my improved level of speed, but…

_I can react to it…_

He moves in an arch shape, moving around me, and going behind me, passing by right next to me on my right, his confidence in his speed and my inability to track it obvious. He appears behind me, holding the ball of chakra in his hand, and I know what he's trying to do…

"Rasengan!" He yells, thrusting the ball forward, trying to blow my body apart…

There's an explosion as dust and dirt is kicked up, a cloud of smoke fills the area where I stand, and I remain there, a physical barrier between myself and the ball. As I stand inside the cloud, I swear under my breath at the figure standing less then 3 inches in front of me, between myself and the Sixth Hokage…

"What's this?" I hear the Hokage ask, and I feel a breeze blow the cloud away, and Raika stands between him and I, her right arm extended, her eyes serious, her hand flat.

_She knocked the jutsu away before it could strike its target. The only reason she isn't injured is because she managed to use a great deal of lightning chakra to counter the Sixth's Rasengan, and even then, I imagine her hand feels pretty bad right now…_

"Who are you?" The Hokage demands, and Raika stands with her feet apart, and I can tell she isn't going to give him an answer.

"I won't let you hurt Lord Tsuzaku." She says simply, her body flashing with electricity.

At this, the Hokage leaps back, and I see his eyes focus on the cloud headband resting on her forehead.

"You're a Hidden Cloud ninja, but what are you doing here, and why are you wearing that cloak?"

Again, the girl does not give an answer.

"Lord Tsuzaku, are you hurt?" She asks, ignoring the Sixth's question.

"No, Raika, I am fine." I tell her.

She turns, and I see a smile on her face.

"Thank goodness." She says, a tone of relief breaking into her stone cold voice. "When I saw that jutsu form, I knew it was trouble, and when he disappeared, I figured he'd attack you from behind, so I could only move to try and intercept it."

"You didn't need to get involved Raika." I tell her. "I could've handled that on my own."

She turns back to the Hokage, who I can only assume is not used to being ignored, and stands with an air of anger around him.

"You needn't waste your strength on this one, My Lord." She says, insulting him. "After all, there's no contest between you, with your full power, you would've annihilated this imbecile."

That sends the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves into full blown anger…

_Most people believe that angering a Kage is a mistake that is short lived, if she's lucky, and I can salvage this, Raika will probably be the first and last person to ever do so and live to tell about it. _

I can see the anger beginning to boil beneath the surface, and I know that I need to quickly quell the blaze.

"Raika!" I yell her name, and she spins around, standing at attention, my yell loud enough to start the Hokage out of the blind rage he was feeling.

"Yes, My Lord?" She asks.

"What did I tell you before I entered this village?" I ask her calmly, coldly, like a parent who just found their child with their hand in the cookie jar…

"You told me to not follow you into the village, and that you could handle your business within the village by yourself."

"Good…" I begin, still with the calm tone of a parent, leading their child to an admittance of guilt. "And what did you do just now by interfering in the fight between the Sixth Hokage and me?" I ask.

"I…" She begins, not knowing what to say, having been led to the point where she admits that she did something wrong.

"You not only followed me, but you also interfered in my business within the village." I explain to her. "Not only that, but you may have endangered the success of my mission here, on your own actions." I tell her, my voice calm and cool, and I see the realization hit her.

"I'm so sorry!" She says, bowing her head. "Please forgive me."

I look to the Hokage, and I can see a puzzled expression on his face. I glance toward my former team mates, and the three of them clearly have no idea what's going on.

"You don't have to bow." I tell her. "However, if you do something like this again, regardless of your intention, my punishment will be swift."

She stands up, nodding gratefully.

"I understand My Lord." She says, and turns around, facing the Hokage. "I apologize for my earlier remarks, it was VERY rude of me, please accept this apology." She finishes, bowing gracefully.

I see the Sixth's eyes go wide as the cold and hard person that interfered and seemed only to care about me is gone, and this kind, well behaved person has replaced her.

"Uh, yes, well, apology accepted…" He begins, not knowing what to say. "Tsuzaku, just what is going on?" He finally manages to speak.

Raika stands up, and I look to the other three, still standing on the sidelines, so to speak, still with bewildered expressions on their faces…

"Raika, will you kindly explain Akatsuki's mission to Lord Hokage and these Shinobi?" I ask her politely.

She nods.

"It is the mission of Akatsuki to…" She begins, but someone's footsteps cut her off.

The footsteps are loud, deliberately loud, letting the people on the roof know that someone is coming up the stairs. I shift my gaze, and I see a person wearing an open long white sleeved robe come up the steps.

The robe is tied at the collar, and I see under it is a woman my age, not as well developed as Himeko, but not small either. She wears a blue traditional female robe under the coat, and I see the robe is short, only hanging down to her knees. She has long blue hair that hangs down to shoulder length, and her eyes are an icy blue. I see the jacket like white robe is cut in the back, as a large gray tank rests on the girl's back, held their by a sash that wraps around her waist and across her shoulder, between her bust, further showing off her chest, as the sash pulls the clothing close to her body…

"Lord Mizukage?" The Sixth asks, and another thought enters my mind.

_Is that Mizu?_

At first, there's silence as Chisato, Himeko, and Ishikawa all move and make room for the Mizukage to exit the steps and come onto the roof. I see her arms are crossed, and a grin on her face, her eyes locked on me, and I see Raika tense up, my right hand going out to her shoulder and grabbing my subordinate there, telling her to calm down.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Tsuzaku Sasaki?" She asks. "You've done some growing since you left this village, and I might also add you've become almost impossible to follow."

I raise my eyebrows at the last part of her sentence, and I hear the Sixth clear his throat.

"Lord Mizukage, what is the meaning of this?" He asks. "Why are you in the Village Hidden in the Leaves?"

She looks at the Sixth, a serious expression on her face, and she points toward me with her right arm.

"Ever since you allowed that person there to leave your village, tracker ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist have been following him, keeping us apprised of his movements and actions." She explains, and my expression changes, becoming serious.

_Someone's been following me all this time, but why would their trackers follow me and not have tried to kill me?_

"Why were you having your trackers follow a ninja from another village?" The Hokage demands. "Tsuzaku Sasaki was never declared a missing ninja, and was allowed to leave peacefully."

She nods.

"I know that, and my predecessor knew that as well." She explains. "However, I after what I saw of him, it was my belief that a ninja of Tsuzaku's power and potential should not have been allowed to simply leave his village and go off on his own for a period of time as long as four years." She explains. "My predecessor agreed with me, and dispatched our best tracker unit to keep tabs on him, knowing that he could easily attempt to come to our village and cause chaos and disorder." She explains. "However, after nearly 2 years, our trackers lost your trail." She says, turning to me. "And then, they suddenly found it again yesterday."

_The day I started back here…_

"That doesn't answer my question." The Hokage persists. "It's a violation of the Alliance Treaty for a village to do something like that in secret without notifying the home village of the ninja involved." He explains.

She shrugs.

"It's a moot point." She responds. "Even our best trackers lost his trail for a long time, and then they just picked it up again." She explains. "When I heard he was returning to Konoha, I came here immediately."

"Why?" I ask a cocky expression to my voice. "Did you come to confess your undying love for me?" I ask sarcastically.

She grimaces.

"No, I came to demand why so many missing and rogue ninja have been turning up dead in the last 2 years?" She asks. "I'm sure you've had something to do with it, but I don't know how or why."

The Hokage turns to me, and I can see the question in his eyes. I release my hold on Raika, and I can see the others on the roof all have the same question on their minds as well.

"Raika was just going to explain that, when you so rudely interrupted her explanation, Lord Mizukage." I say with sarcasm. "Raika, if you would." My voice polite and courteous.

"It is the mission of Akatsuki to find and eliminate all missing and rogue ninja or criminals from any village, regardless of size or situation." She explains simply.

I see the Hokage gain a questioning expression, and I look around to see it reflected in the eyes of the others on the roof.

"I started Akatsuki as a sort of multi national task force, with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing wanted criminals." I explain rather clearly.

"So, that's how those 3 died…" Mizu mutters and the Hokage looks around.

"Only the two of you are members?" He asks.

I shake my head.

"My organization has grown rather large over the last 2 years." I explain. "I've got recruits from almost every village, including villages that are members of the Alliance Treaty." I explain. "However, what I lack is why I returned here today."

"And what's that?" He asks.

"The open support and backing of a major ninja village." I explain. "Right now, Akatsuki is looked at as an organization of ninja who have lost their way, and many of my subordinates are on the verge of becoming missing ninja." I explain. "However, if I were to gain the support of a major village, the rest of the world's opinion of my organization would change, and powerful ninja would want to be a part of the group."

"So, what about those cloaks…" He asks; referring to the robes Raika and I wear. "Why are you both wearing them?"

"These robes are the sign of an Akatsuki commander." I explain. "These are given to ninja with leadership status, sort of like the generals of the army."

"And what about you…" The Hokage begins. "What are you within the organization, and how do I know that this isn't just some ploy to get our village's backing, and then start a war?"

"Lord Tsuzaku is the Supreme Commander." Raika says. "And if you don't wish to back us, then we'll go to another village that will!"

"Raika…" I mutter, and she nods, apologizing under her breath.

"If you think I'm trying to start a war, why not just ask Lord Mizukage, standing there, who's had her ninja's following me over the last 2 years." I explain. "If I meant to start a war, don't you think I would've been striking at villages, causing chaos and uproar?" I ask. "Instead, I've been hunting down criminals, and ending their criminal careers, once and for all."

"What gives you the right?" Chisato demands from me, suddenly speaking up. "On what authority do you act?" She continues.

"No body's…" I explain. "Akatsuki acts for the betterment of the entire world."

She growls under her breath.

"You really think that hunting down and killing criminals is going to make the world a better place?" She asks. "Instead, why don't you help build crop fields, or rebuild the homes destroyed by those criminals, instead of just killing them?"

I glare at her.

"Akatsuki is a ninja organization; we strive to protect innocent lives by killing those who would threaten it." I explain. "Do you have any idea how many lives I've saved by killing the people I have?" I ask. "Can you even begin to fathom how much damage a single, Jounin level ninja can do when he's trying to kill people?"

She shakes her head in contempt.

"It doesn't matter, because those people were never touched by that ninja…"

"...Because of us!" Raika shouts at Chisato. "If it weren't for our actions, countless people in several different villages would've been hurt or killed by those ninja, and instead, we left their dead bodies for the birds to feast on, giving back to environment rather then letting them hurt more living things." Raika finishes.

I see Chisato's eyes lock on her.

"Do you honestly think what you're doing is right?" She asks. "How can you blindly follow Tsuzaku like you do?" She asks. "He's a murderer who only likes to show off his superiority over other ninja, and then kill them!"

She shakes her head, and I can tell that she's getting angry, and it won't be long now before something happens…

"Lord Tsuzaku is a great man, he's helped more people then I count, and you think I'm just going to stand by and let you disrespect him that way?" She asks, lightning beginning to flare across her body…

_I haven't seen that in such a long time, it's almost nostalgic…_

A scene comes to mind from memory, of seeing a girl in the woods, staring at me with eyes full of hatred and fear, electricity flying across her body, her hair standing on end, a guttural growl escaping her lips, her fists clenched in anger, ready to kill the person in front of her…

I blink the memory away, and I see Chisato getting ready to fight, and I clear my throat rather loudly.

"Okay, that's enough you two!" I yell, getting between them, putting my back to Raika. "If you want to fight, do it in a contest, but I won't have any more violence today."

Chisato grins, standing up straight and looking away from me.

"Why do you care about violence, aren't you the one who goes around killing people?"

"Chisato!" Ishikawa begins, but the girl glares at him.

"Shut up Ishikawa!" She tells him. "You aren't my sensei anymore, and I'm getting sick of tired of everyone taking his side on this!" She yells, pointing at me. "He's been missing for nearly 4 years, while I've been here, faithfully serving the village, and when he returns, you come to find out he's been killing rogue ninja without authorization, and you just shrug it off, like it doesn't even matter, yet if I were to do something like that, I'd be punished for it!"

"Chisato…" I begin, and I see the anger finally break through.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" She yells, disappearing in a puff of smoke…

"…She's gone…" Himeko mutters and Ishikawa sighs.

"I guess I should go find her and talk to her." He says, and I nod.

_It would be best if he did that, she doesn't seem to like me that much, so hopefully he'll be able to help her work through this…_

"Well, I'm off." He says, disappearing, and the Hokage sighs.

"Shall we all go down to my office, we can talk down there?" He asks.

Everyone standing on the roof nods at that, and we all start down the steps, following the Hokage down…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

2 ½ hours later, I find myself standing in front of a council of ninja behind a table, all of them have a stern expression on their faces, and the Hokage sits in the center of the long table that runs the width of the room. They all look at me with a suspicious expression, and Raika stands at my side, silent and standing straight, and her hands at her sides. I stand with my arms at my sides, my Sharingan still in my eyes.

"Well…" The Hokage begins. "I think it's about time we took an hour break for lunch." He says. "We'll resume discussions after that, at approximately 1 pm."

I nod.

"Until then…" I say calmly and politely, and I bow, turning and leaving the room.

Raika follows me closely, and I close the door behind us, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Is something the matter Lord Tsuzaku?" Raika asks. "You seem awfully tense."

I nod.

"I'd rather shove a kunai through my right hand then go back in there." I tell her as I start walking, and she follows me rather closely.

"I don't think you really want to do something like that, it'd make it almost impossible for you to use ninjutsu."

I shake my head.

"There's more to life then being a ninja, remember that Raika." I tell her.

She nods simply.

"I know, Lord Tsuzaku." She responds. "That's why you don't fight with all your strength all the time."

I don't add to the conversation, and the two of us head to the streets of the village. As I walk, I think about the various places I should go to get some food, and Raika obediently follows, not having a care in the world, just happy to be with me.

_Probably head to the steakhouse, and get some meat, though I don't know if Raika would want to eat something like that…_

"Raika…" I begin over my shoulder.

"Yes, Lord Tsuzaku?" She asks; her voice happy.

"What would you like to eat?" I ask.

She shrugs.

"Whatever you want Lord Tsuzaku, I'm sure I'll find something."

I shake my head.

"Raika, do you understand how messed up it is that you don't have any likes or dislikes, and you don't express yourself?"

She shakes her head.

"I don't feel messed up." She tells me. "I've got likes and dislikes, and I do express myself."

I shrug it off.

_It's probably not worth going into. I know this girl hasn't had the greatest childhood, and their probably is something wrong with her, but I don't think she wants to go into it, seems to me that she would rather just forget about it…_

"Tsuzaku…" I hear a familiar voice behind me.

I turn around to see Himeko standing there, wearing a white kimono with dark blue flower designs on it. Her hair is bundled above her head. She looks stunning, her cheeks red, a smile on her face.

"Himeko…" I mutter, dumbfounded at her appearance.

"Are you busy, do you have any plans for lunch?"

I shake my head.

"No, we were just going to find a place to eat." I explain.

She shakes her head.

"That won't do." She says simply. "Since you don't have any plans, you should come back to my home, I'm sure mom would love to see you again, and I'm sure your friend would be welcome as well."

I look at Raika.

"Do have any objections?" I ask.

She shakes her head.

"Whatever you want, Lord Tsuzaku…" She responds simply.

I sigh, giving up at getting her to express her opinion.

"Well, if you don't mind, then I don't have any objections."

She smiles happily.

"Shall we go then?"

I nod, and Raika and I follow Himeko back to her house, and I follow her inside. She leads us to the living room, and motions for us to sit on the couch.

"I don't know where mom is, but I'm sure she's just around this damn house." She says.

I sit there, and I realize that's the first time that I heard her curse about her position or her home. I just sit there as she walks to the door, and Raika stands nearby, near the door toward the courtyard.

"You two just stay here, and I'll go find mom and make sure that lunch is coming along."

I nod and Himeko leaves the room, leaving Raika and me alone in the room.

"I don't like this." Raika says simply, gently pacing back and forth in front of me.

"What's wrong?" I ask, sitting on the sofa. "These people don't mean us any harm."

She shakes her head.

"There's an air to this place." She tells me. "It an air of hostility, like we really aren't wanted here."

"You'll get used to it." I explain. "This entire family really doesn't like outsiders that much, so the two of us being here is sort of a first for the clan." I explain. "When I was first here when I was 12, I took off because of the way the members of the family looked at me at the dinner table." I tell her. "I knew I didn't belong, and even after these 4 long years, nothing has changed in this family."

Raika mutters something under her breath.

"These people think we're criminals." She explains. "They only want us here so they can keep an eye on us."

I shrug.

"They pose no real threat to me Raika." I tell her. "I can read them like books, and the leader of the clan is Himeko's mother, and she's a forward thinker, so I don't think we're in any danger." I explain.

"I don't know." She responds. "I still don't think coming here was a good idea."

"So, you think coming here was a bad idea, and yet you didn't tell me that before we came here?"

She shakes her head.

"I didn't know anything about this place before we got here." She explains. "Though now, I have this feeling that we're in danger, and I can't put my finger on it."

The Sharingan is still in my eyes, and it has never left during my time at the house. I've been paying attention, looking for any possible threats or danger, and I haven't detected anything…

"You're just jumpy, you've probably never been in a place like this before, and you're scared because you're out of your comfort zone."

She shakes her head.

"It isn't my nerves." She explains. "There's something else here, and I can't explain what it is." She explains to me.

Shortly after that, I see Himeko reappear in the doorway.

"Tsuzaku, there's someone here to see you." She says simply.

I stand up, a feeling of dread creeping up my spine.

"Who is it?" I ask.

She shrugs.

"I don't know; she's dressed in blue robes though." Himeko tells me.

I nod solemnly.

"Is she outside?" I ask.

Himeko nods.

"She's waiting outside, we didn't let her in because she doesn't look like she's from this village."

I get up and I walk toward the door.

"Let's go, no point in letting this person wait." I explain.

_Though, I think I've got a good idea of who it is outside…_

Raika follows me as Himeko leads me through the house and to the front door, where I reclaim my shoes and walk outside, and I see Mizu standing there, her arms crossed.

"So, you were here…" She mutters, upon seeing me.

I nod as I approach her.

"What do you want, Lord Mizukage?" I ask. "You have no right to be in this village, so what business do you have here?"

She points to Raika.

"The Hidden Mist and Hidden Cloud are close allies, and your associate there is wearing the headband of the Village Hidden in the Clouds from the land of lightning." She explains.

I glance back at Raika, and I can see a concerned look on her face.

"That's a convenient excuse." I respond. "However, Raika is my responsibility, so any problem you have with her, you can take up with me."

She grins.

"It just so happens that your friend there is a missing ninja who went missing nearly 5 years ago." She explains. "Her death is a high priority in the assassination units of the Village Hidden in the Mist."

"Raika is a member of Akatsuki under my protection, and if you want to kill her, then you'll just have to go through me."

She smiles.

"That's good, because my original goal was to have a rematch with you." She mutters. "I personally don't care about your associate; I really want to prove myself against you."

I shake my head.

"You still have some sort of grudge against me?" I ask, shrugging. "I guess I'll just have to knock you the hell out, and prove that I'm stronger then you are once and for all."

She smiles.

"If you think you're the only one who's been improving over these last 4 years, then you're wrong."

I raise my left arm, standing up straight and putting my right arm behind my back in a fist, my left hand an open palm, my palm toward me. Raika recognizes the stance and moves back, and I see Mizu reach over her back, pulling the cork from the bottle on her back…

"Wait a minute…" Himeko begins. "You two can't fight here." She tells us.

Mizu glares at her.

"Trust me; we'll keep the collateral damage to a minimum." She says. "It isn't going to last that long anyway."

I grin.

"I couldn't agree more."

She throws the cork at me, and I catch it with my left hand, holding it in front of me for a moment, and then extending my left arm out straight, letting the cork drop, and I can see the water leave her bottle and hit the ground.

The water splashes and the cork hits the ground, and I take off at full speed. I charge for her, and I throw a punch toward her, and I see the water wall come up, and I smile as my fist hits the wall of water, and then…

A burst of flame shoots from my hand, and I see Mizu lean backward, barely escaping the burst of flame from my fist, the water around my hand burning into steam from my strike…

"What the…" I hear Mizu mutter, and I hear Himeko gasp.

I disappear in a blur of motion, and I see her eyes dart around, as if trying to anticipate where my next attack is going to come from…

I appear behind her, and I perform a leg sweep.

"Leaf Whirlwind…" I mutter, trying to sweep her legs out from under her.

She leaps up, and I release a burst of flame chakra through my feet, unleashing a burst of fire that moves like a broom, following the path of my strike. My attack burns the water on the ground around her, and as I finish the sweep motion, spinning counter clockwise, I stop with my left leg extended out, and I flip forward, bringing both feet down, releasing a burst of fire from both feet, trying to burn the Mizukage in the flame.

I watch as a cocoon of water surrounds her body at the last minute, and my attack does nothing but knock her back, causing her to land on her back, the cocoon shattering, and then she does a back flip, landing on her feet as I stand up straight on my feet, reassuming my fighting stance as I stare at her.

I see her glare at me, anger boiling below the surface.

"What do you think of my fighting style?" I ask. "I worked on in these last four years." I tell her.

She nods.

"It's an impressive maneuver, and it tells me that you've got a large amount of chakra, to be using it to fuel your taijutsu like that."

I nod.

"Very good, your analytical skills must be good, if you can see that I'm using small bursts of fire chakra to release the flame from my hands and feet."

"However, fire jutsu use large amounts of chakra and for you to be doing that must mean that you developed a large amount of chakra reserves during these last four years."

I nod.

"My chakra affinity is for fire, so using fire jutsu is almost natural for me, and my fighting style is just the application of my affinity to my taijutsu."

"I can see how you managed to kill the ninja you did now…" She begins. "With a fighting style like that, with surprise on your side, you'd be able to take down most water ninja without breaking a sweat."

I grin.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

I see the water around us begin to gather around her, and I shift back, giving myself enough reaction time to be able to counter her moves…

We stand there, a standoff between the two of us, when a puff of smoke appears down the road, and I glance down, seeing Ishikawa standing there in the smoke.

"What are you two doing?" He asks. "The two of you are allies!"

I stand up straight, loosing my stance, confident that Mizu's honor won't let her attack her opponent when he's dropped his guard, because her fight has been interrupted.

"The Mizukage wanted to fight." I explain rather simply. "I obliged her."

He shakes his head, dismissing the statement.

"Whatever; have any of you seen Chisato?" He asks.

_Chisato, I thought he was going to go talk to her…_

"I thought you were going to talk to her, sensei." Himeko points out.

He nods.

"I did, and I did catch up to her." He explains. "I talked to her, and she only seemed to get angrier and angrier." He explains. "No matter how I tried, she just seemed to become more and more consumed by her apparent hatred of you, Tsuzaku."

I sigh heavily.

"Great…" I mutter sarcastically. "Someone else wants to kill me."

"It isn't your fault." Himeko tells me. "She's just angry at her own inability; you're just a convenient scapegoat."

I shake my head slowly.

"I don't think it's that easy." I explain. "She always seemed to have a problem with me, even before I first manifested the Sharingan in front of her."

Himeko nods.

"These last couple of years, she's grown to really despise you, Tsuzaku." She explains. "She saw me training and getting better with the Gentle Fist, and she got extremely jealous, and I think her Medic Fist and use of the Mirugan is nothing but an attempt to somehow use the Gentle Fist and the Byakugan."

"Then why is she so angry at me?" I ask. "Why isn't she mad at you?"

"The whole reason she wants to use the Gentle Fist, is because she knows that you can't copy it, and that she can use it without having to worry about you copying it and turning it against her, unlike almost every other ninjutsu and genjutsu."

I exhale; feeling like the world has just taken a preverbal crap on me…

"So, in order to use the Gentle Fist, she needs the Byakugan…" I trail, my mind 4 steps ahead of my mouth…

_It couldn't be…_

BOOM!

An explosion roars from behind me, at the Hyuga home. I turn around, and I see a figure leap up to the roof, holding another person under their left arm. As my eyes focus on the figure, my fears are realized.

_Chisato…_

I run back inside the house and into the courtyard, and I see Neji Hyuga standing in the courtyard, looking up at Chisato as she holds the 6 year old boy under her left arm, and he glares at her, his Byakugan is active in his eyes.

"Neji…" I hear Himeko mutter as all of enter the courtyard, and I see Chisato look down at us.

"So, the gang's all here…" She says with sarcasm.

"Chisato, why are you doing this?" Ishikawa asks.

She looks down at him with a menacing glare.

"For these last 4 years, I've had to watch while trained and waited for Tsuzaku to return, and all the while, she's had the power to beat him and she refused to acknowledge it!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I ask. "What did I ever do to you?"

"You were always acting so superior to me." She says. "With that Sharingan of yours, you always seemed to be capable of beating anyone." She explains. "And the only thing it seemed that you couldn't copy was Himeko and her Byakugan, along with her fighting style." She explains. "So, I'm going to gain that power, and then, I'm going to prove to everyone in the world that I am the greatest ninja alive."

I shake my head.

"You don't have to do this." I tell her. "If you'll let that boy go, I'll gladly give my life to you."

She looks at me with a look of disdain.

"Do you honestly think that my ultimate goal is to beat you?" She asks. "How conceited can you be?"

I move to get up there, and I see her motion toward the child, and I see the exploding tag attached to the child's face, and the rope binding the child, his mouth covered to keep him quiet.

"Chisato; please let the child go." I beg of her. "He doesn't deserve to be involved in all this."

She shakes her head.

"This child is going to serve me well." She explains.

I disappear, and I reappear in front of her on the roof, using my speed to cover the distance.

"Stay back!" She yells at me, and makes a simple hand sign, as if ready to ignite the tag.

_I have to try and talk her out of this. If I could only use that Jutsu, then there wouldn't be a problem. I could get the kid free and everything would be great, but I can't risk using that jutsu here, not in front of all these people…_

"Please, Chisato, just let the boy go, and I'll devote my life to you." I tell her, trying to convince her to let the child go.

She spits at my feet.

"I don't want you to work for me." She says. "I want to kill you."

"Then I'll give you my life." I tell her. "Just let the child go." I plead.

She shakes her head.

"I don't want you to just give up, that proves nothing, I want to kill you when you're fighting me at your best, and that way, once I've beaten you down, you'll know that I am superior to you, and you'll feel true despair, right before I kill you."

I shake my head.

"You don't have to do this."

"But I do." She says, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

_Damnit, if only I hadn't fought against Mizu and done all that other crap today, I would have enough chakra…_

I sigh heavily, and then I leap off the roof and I land on the ground. Neji approaches me rather quickly, and grabs me by the collar.

"What the hell are you doing?" He demands. "You could've gotten my child killed."

I avoid his gaze as the veins around his eyes disappear.

"I tried to save your child, and I couldn't…" I begin. "But I do know what she's trying to do."

He lets me go, and I stand there, Raika near me, ready to jump at Neji for putting his hands on me.

"Lord Tsuzaku…" She mutters.

I sigh.

"Just stay here." I explain. "I'm going to stop her!"

I start making hand signs, and I see Ishikawa's eyes go wide as he recognizes the sequence of signs.

I disappear in a puff of smoke, and I reappear next to Chisato, and she sees this, and stops, moving ten feet ahead of where I am, and then turning around, glaring at me, holding the child under her arms.

I look around, and I can see I'm in the forest around the village.

"How the hell did you find me?" She asks.

I point to a kunai that rests in her pouch.

"I managed to stash a kunai in your ninja pouch that contains a special homing seal that I learned during my time away." I explain. "It emits a signal of my chakra that allows me to follow it up to 20 miles away." I lie.

She grabs the kunai I pointed to, and then throws it into the ground.

"I can't believe you had the gall to try and follow me." She tells me.

"I can't just let you leave." I tell her. "You must realize what you're doing is insane." I tell her. "That child will never obey you and do what you want, not without years of work!"

_I could try activating that jutsu, but using that last jutsu took even more chakra away from me, and because of the strain that jutsu puts on me, I don't have enough chakra to use it. I thought that if I could get her away from everything I might be able to scrounge up enough to use it once, but even if I could, after I use the jutsu, I'd probably pass out, and she'd be free…_

"What makes you think that I want the child to work for me?" She asks, and I raise my eyebrows…

_What the hell does that mean?_

I come to a conclusion…

"But that's madness!" I yell, and I see her smile.

"That's exactly why it's so brilliant." She tells me.

_It all makes sense now, the medic fist, the fact that she's been practically emulating Himeko; learning to use the Mirugan, all of it has been part of one large plan…_

"Don't tell me, that everything about your medic fist up to this point was…" I begin.

She grins.

"It was all just an attempt to try and emulate the Gentle Fist." She explains. "I was trying to find a way to fight using that style that cuts off the flow of chakra through the body, and the only thing I could was develop a method for striking the muscles without causing any outward injury." She explains. "Any medic can learn to do what I've done, but if I could gain the Byakugan, it wouldn't be that hard for me to learn and master the gentle fist, just from what I've seen…"

I shake my head.

"You can't possibly be thinking of doing that surgery yourself!" I tell her. "You'll make that boy blind; just to fuel your own ambitions." I explain.

She shakes her head.

"I'm not going to steal his eyes." She tells me. "I made sure this boy and I are matching blood types." She explains. "I'm going to trade eyes with him."

_Switch pairs of eyes, that's crazy!_

"For you to do that yourself you're crazy, you can't possibly pull of an operation like that on your own!"

She grins.

"What makes you think I'm going to try and perform this operation myself?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"For you to find a Jounin at that level, it would take weeks."

She nods.

"I've already located a missing ninja capable of doing what I want, but it's going to take about a week-." She cuts herself off.

"I won't let you!" I shout, charging forward, and throwing fist toward her face.

She moves fast, making a hand sign near the tag, and I see it ignite, the fuse burning…

_Oh shit!_

I stop my fist right in front of her face, and she smiles at me.

"Your move…" She says simply. "Either back off, or this boy dies."

I nod, and leap back, and she smiles, snuffing the fuse out, but leaving it there, incase I try to attack her again.

"I was watching you that time." She explains. "You haven't slipped anything onto me this time."

I nod.

"I'll see you soon." She says. "New eyes and all…"

She disappears in a puff of smoke, and I stand there, feeling helpless and beaten…

_I failed; I failed to get that boy back, that poor child…all because I wasted so much chakra fighting against Mizu and everything else that's happened today! Damn it all to HELL!_

I feel tears begin to form in my eyes, and I don't know how long I'm standing there, just wallowing in the misery of having left an apparently psychotic ninja leave with a 6 year old child who's guilty of no crime except for having been born with the pupil condition that is unique to the Hyuga family…

I feel my fingernails bury into my palms, and I can feel the blood begin to flow from my hands…

_Right now, that poor child is away from his parents, just because Chisato is an ambitious son of a bitch…_

"He's over here!" I hear a familiar voice yell.

I turn behind me, and I see the lot of them, Neji, Hinata, Himeko, Ishikawa, Raika and Mizu running toward me, and I hold my right palm toward the sky, blood running down my hand and onto the ground…

The 6 of them stop with 3 feet between us, and Neji pushes his way forward.

"Where is he?" He demands. "Where's my son?"

I sigh heavily, feeling the feeling of failure returning.

"I tried to stop her…" I say miserably, looking down at my right hand. "But she ignited the exploding tag, and I had no choice but to back off, otherwise she would've killed him…"

He sighs, and I can see the feeling of helplessness isn't settling well with Neji either…

"Neji, I apologize." I say, bowing my head. "If I can get another chance, I'm sure I'll be able to get your son back!"

He looks at me, and raises his eyebrows.

"What difference would there be if you encountered her again?" He asks. "How would the result be different?"

I shake my head.

"I'm stronger then she is, and she knows it." I explain. "All I have to do is get her in a one on one fight, and then I'll be able to kill her."

He looks around, and his eyes stop on Hinata.

"Lady Hinata, I respectfully request to be a part of the team that pursues that kunoichi." He says to her.

She shrugs.

"It isn't my decision." She explains. "It's up to Lord Hokage."

I hear the older man growl.

"I'll find that woman, even if I have to run through the pits of Hell to do it."

He walks away, and leaves the six of us standing there.

"We should head back." Hinata says. "I'm sure Lord Hokage is going to want a report on what's transpired."

I nod.

"I have to go back to see Lord Hokage, so don't worry about making a report; I'll make sure I bring it up."

With that, the six of us leave the area and return to the village, and when we arrive I head back to the ninja headquarters along with Raika at my side. The two of us make our way back up into the academy, and back into the same room that I spent 3 hours in already, and as I go inside, I see the Hokage and the others are all in place behind the table, and I stop, resting my hands at my sides.

"Well, you're back late." The Hokage comments rather dryly.

I nod, and I put a cold expression on my face.

"There was a kidnapping, Lord Hokage." I explain.

He nods.

"I'm well aware." He says. "ANBU ninja notified me about Chisato Shiriyuki's kidnapping of Hizashi Hyuga, and her following escape." He tells me rather coldly.

"Then, I'd like to formally request that I be assigned to the team that is sent to retrieve the child." I explain simply.

I see the Hokage smile.

"And why would I assign you to that squad?" He asks.

I clench my fists tightly.

"It's my fault that child was taken away, and I want the chance to make it right."

He smiles.

"I've got an idea." He explains. "How about and your companion there go after him, and if you can succeed, then the Village Hidden in the Leaves will openly support Akatsuki." He tells me.

I grimace, lowering my eyebrows.

"And what if we fail?" I ask coldly.

"Simple…" He begins. "If you fail to retrieve the child unharmed, then the Village Hidden in the Leaves will declare you a felon of the highest rank, and add your face to the Bingo book." He continues. "Not to mention your Akatsuki will be deemed a group of outlaws, with standing orders issued to have anyone who claims to be a part of it assassinated on sight."

I swallow the saliva in my throat, and then I nod.

"I accept your terms." I say simply.

He smiles.

"You've got 1 week." He tells me. "If at the end of that time you don't have the child back here safe and sound, then we won't have much choice."

I nod again.

"I understand." I begin, bowing. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take my leave, and head out for my mission."

The Sixth Hokage smiles a cold smile.

"I'll be expecting a positive result." Are his only words as I turn around and walk out of the room, Raika close on my heels…

_I'm not going to fail, not again!_


	13. Chapter 13

(A/N: Well, if you hadn't noticed in Chapter 12, the &&& is my new scene change thing. I usually use spaces, but Fan fiction cuts them out to save space, so I opted for that instead. This chapter is short, but it's fast paced, and I think it's still worth reading, spite of the fact that it's only 4800 words. You should all be happy, I managed to get this one finished thanks to a stroke of luck, so I'm posting it now. Don't worry, 13 will be nearly double the length this one is, and just as much happens, if not more, so sit tight…)

Chapter 13: The Trials and Tribulations…

I leave the room, and I turn, heading for the stairs down toward the ground floor, and ultimately toward the door. As I walk down the hall, I see Himeko coming up the stars, and she stops in the middle of the hall, between me and the stairs, with Raika behind me.

"Himeko, what's wrong?" I ask.

She has a serious expression on her face.

"I'm going with you." She says simply, in a no nonsense tone.

"Are you sure about that, Himeko?" I ask. "Isn't your emotional involvement in this one more a liability then anything?"

She gives me a cold stare.

"You're one to talk about emotional involvement." She explains. "I know Chisato better then you do, and I've got MUCH more knowledge about the Gentle Fist and the Byakugan then you ever could, so I'm going, no matter what."

Raika moves to open her mouth, and I raise my left hand, cutting her off.

"All right…" I give in. "If you're coming with us, then you're going to need to move." I explain.

She nods, and she moves aside as the two of us go past her, and she takes up position with the two of us as we walk down the stairs and out of the Ninja headquarters. As the two of us leave the building and start toward the main village gate, Himeko speaks up.

"Do we need to pack anything?" She asks. "Like tents or food?"

I shake my head.

"I've gone to great lengths to set up Akatsuki outposts within a day's travel of each of the major hidden villages." I explain. "All we have to do is travel straight toward the outpost, and we'll be there before nightfall."

We walk rather quickly, myself leading the way as Himeko follows me, and Raika walks with her usual modesty, always 3 steps behind me exactly, never once falling farther behind then that…

"Himeko…" I begin, looking over my right shoulder at her. "Tell me about the Byakugan, and what kind of powers it has."

She raises an eyebrow.

"Why would you want to know something like that?" She asks. "I thought the point of this mission was to stop Chisato before she can have her eyes worked on."

I nod an affirmation.

"That is the goal of this mission." I explain. "However, we're assuming that Chisato will take a full week to find the doctor she wants, and undergo the surgery." I explain to her. "If she has already managed to make contact with him, then no doubt by the time we locate her, she'll have already had the surgery, and will have the Byakugan at her disposal." I tell her.

She exhales through her nose, and I can see, even without the pupils in her eyes, that she doesn't want to give up the information…

"I suppose, I can tell you basic information." She says.

I nod.

"Raika, make sure you listen as well, it may be that you encounter our target before I do, and you're going to need all the information you can."

My subordinate nods simply, and mumbles an affirmative.

"Go ahead, Himeko."

She sighs, taking in a full breath.

"The Byakugan is the blood line limit of the Hyuga clan…" She begins. "It grants the user nearly 360 degrees of vision, making it nearly impossible to be snuck up on while it's active." She explains. "You can tell it's activated by the veins that surround the eye becoming bulged, and the pupil in the center of the eye becoming visible."

I nod.

"Anything else…" I ask.

She nods.

"Yes…" She pauses. "It's extremely hard to hide anything from the Byakugan." She explains. "The user can see through walls, almost any illusion, and through nearly any clone jutsu." She tells me. "The only one that can fool the Byakugan is a perfectly executed Shadow Clone jutsu, with the user's chakra evenly distributed among the clones, otherwise the user will be able to spot the original with the highest amount of chakra, and be able to attack it."

I nod.

_That knowledge might come in handy later…_

"Thank you, Himeko." I respond simply. "Hopefully, I won't need this information…"

She shifts her head on her neck up and down, hardly even moving it in a nodding motion, and in her eyes I can see a great concern…

"Is something wrong?" I ask. "You seem, unsettled." I manage, not knowing what word to use.

_I've never seen her this upset about anything before. She's always had a somewhat happy disposition, if not then happy, then at least confident, but now, she looks like someone just killed her cat…_

She shakes her head slowly, and she blinks several times.

"It's nothing." She finally manages. "I'm fine."

With that, a silence falls on our group, and after several minutes, I look back at Raika to see her face set in stone, a unflinching calm surrounding her, and upon meeting my gaze, she smiles.

"Is something the matter, Lord Tsuzaku?" She asks happily, and I shake my head.

"No, nothing's wrong." I respond, and she smiles briefly.

"Just want someone to talk to?" She asks, and I shake my head again.

"Not really, just curious how you were…" I begin, not really knowing what I wanted when I looked back her now.

"I'm fine." She says; smiling again, but the happy expression is lost after a few brief moments. "Although I do appreciate your concern, you needn't worry yourself over me, Lord Tsuzaku…"

_There it is again, that 'Lord Tsuzaku' stuff that she always seems to spout off whenever she speaks to me. I can understand giving a me title, or calling me sir, but she acts like I'm more important then her…_

"Raika…" I begin. "I've been meaning to talk to you about how you address me." I say calmly, and happily, using a positive tone to prevent fear from entering her mind.

"What's wrong with what I call you, Lord Tsuzaku?" She asks; using the mannerism again, fear entering the tail end of her voice.

Her eyes now show a shakiness, her calm is gone, replaced with a feeling of fear creeping around inside of her.

"I don't know what reason you have for referring to me as your lord…" I begin. "But it's completely unnecessary." I explain to her. "You don't have to call me 'Lord Tsuzaku,' or anything else for that matter." I tell her. "You can just call me by my own name, and nothing else, you needn't add the title."

I see a sigh of relief escape her lips, and she gives me a reaffirming smile, the fear having left her with the breath.

_It's amazing how unstable her emotions are, she feels fear at the smallest things, and can lose the emotion just as quickly as it's stirred up within her. I've never dug too deeply into her past, knowing that doing so could only bring up bad memories, but it may come to the point where I don't have any choice, and I have to unearth her past from the layers upon layers of veils she's wrapped around it, as if to cut herself off from it…_

I shake my head, clearing the thoughts of her past from my mind.

_If I dig into her past now, it's only going to cause problems. That can wait until after Akatsuki has the open support of Konoha and the Land of Fire, and then I can worry about Raika and her personal misfortunes, past or present…_

"Lord Tsuzaku…" I hear Raika begin, and I stop, turning to her.

"What is it?" I ask calmly.

She extends her left arm, and points.

"The Outpost is right there." She tells me in a quizzical tone. "Where are you going?"

My eyes follow her arm, and when I see the outpost sitting there, the building clear as day in the forest, I feel embarrassment flood through me…

_Don't tell me I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice the building right there in front of me like that?_

I see Himeko give me a sideways look.

"Are you sure you're all right?" She asks, and I laugh nervously.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, NO problem." I say, walking toward the outpost with exaggerated pumping of my arms, as if trying to convince them I'm all right…

I glance back to see them look at each other, and then sigh heavily.

"Men…" They both mutter, and I ignore the shot, realizing I deserve it.

The two of them follow me toward the outpost, and I stop walking with my ridiculous arm motions, returning to a normal stride as I take the building in…

The structure had been built some time ago, used at first as a shelter during storms for travelers before the major wars, and then as a temporary base for soldiers. I'd heard rumors that most of the buildings my subordinates took over as outposts were occupied by thugs and robbers, most putting up little resistance to a trained ninja. This one, like many of the others, is more then meets the eye…

"This is it?" Himeko asks as we approach an apparently empty clearing in the forest. "Where is this outpost you were talking about, cloaked under some sort of genjutsu?"

I shake my head.

"Nothing so complicated." I explain, seeing the tell tale markers of the door with my Sharingan, I reach down and grasp at the camouflaged handle, grasping it and pulling on the metal door.

The door opens to my left on a hinge up and out of the ground. The door is the same size as most common household doorways, and inside the door is a set of steps, leading down to yet another doorway…

"It's underground?" She asks. "When in the world did you have time and money to build something like this?"

I shake my head.

"Akatsuki didn't build it." I explain. "There are structures like this all over the world, concealed underground, most of them at one point were used by some really powerful traveling criminal that liked to move around a lot, so he had these bases built." I explain. "Ironically, when I found out about this, I had members of Akatsuki go out and find these structures, finding most of them had been gutted some time ago, and most of them were being used by common thugs and criminals."

"What about those that weren't?" She asks as I start down the steps.

"The ones that were empty were easy pickings, but those that actually had ninja at them, I took care of myself."

"You fought them?" She asks. "But aren't you the leader of this group?"

I nod.

"I am, but no matter how good you are, your skills will get rusty unless you use them from time to time." I tell her. "Besides, it was a good way to measure how successful my training was over the months and months, whenever a base would give resistance, I'd go in and clean it out, judging how strong I am by how long it took me to take care of everyone in the building."

I see her shiver at that.

"You mean; you killed those people…"

I nod.

"They were all felons, running from the punishment they so rightly deserved." I tell her. "If the situation were reversed, they would've all killed me, without a moment's hesitation, so I showed them none." I say calmly.

The three of us stop at the bottom of the stairs, and I grasp the doorknob, glancing back at Himeko.

"You might wanna cover your ears." I tell her, opening the door.

CLANG!

The sound of the metal door above our heads echoes in my ears, and I see Himeko grasp at her ears a second too late, winching at the loud noise.

"A little more warning would've been good!" She yells at me, apparently her ears ringing.

I glance at Raika, and I shake my head.

"I told you…" I mutter, and she growls something I can't make out, and I just sigh, walking inside the complex. "This is our Konoha outpost." I tell her.

We now stand in a simple hallway; the walls are plain and colored brown, with doors that line both sides. The hallway extends straight ahead and then comes to a T intersection, an open archway the size of double doors at the end of the hallway, with both sides of the hall extending farther beyond the view from this hall.

"Looks impressive…" She mutters.

Artificial lights hang from the 10 foot high ceiling, the ceiling itself only a few inches under the surface dirt. The lights cast the walls in an eerie yellow color, and I walk forward, ignoring the sense of gloom that seems to irradiate off of the walls in these bases, and the two of them follow me rather closely.

"Where are we going?" Himeko asks.

I point forward, through the archway ahead of us.

"We're going to the central control room." I explain. "From there, we'll have access to our information network, and we'll be able to dig up the information we need on the Jounin that Chisato is looking for."

Himeko raises her eyebrows.

"Who is she looking for?" She asks. "You never told Lord Hokage or anyone who it was?"

"His name is Daisuke Egawa, and he's a missing ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rocks." I explain. "He's a medic ninja of great skill and ability, to the point that he was performing illegal operations and experiments on live human bodies." I tell her.

She raises her eyebrows.

"How do you know that?" She asks. "What makes you so sure?"

I stop before passing through the archway, raising my right arm and holding up my pointer and middle fingers.

"2 reasons…" I begin. "First being that Daisuke is the only person in the world with the kind of skill necessary to perform the kind of work Chisato needs, that doesn't have to worry about legal ramifications." I pause. "And second, I saw a bingo book in her right hip pocket, it was open to the 6th page, and I could read the name at the top, and it was Daisuke's name." I tell her.

She nods.

"Oh…" She mutters rather simply.

I walk into the command room, and I see the woman who runs the base approaching us, dressed in a t shirt and a skirt, a Hidden Rock headband adoring her head.

The woman is older then I am, in her mid twenties, with long dark hair tied into a pony tail. Her eyes are dark, and her skin doesn't show any scars. She has a mature air about her as she walks around, issuing orders and making sure that everything is running smoothly, her attention so consumed by managing the outpost, that she doesn't notice the three of us entering the room at first.

Around the room, people are moving about, working at their stations. Some of them work at Morse code transmitters, sending messages between the various outposts, and I approach the leader of the outpost.

"Shiru, may I have a minute?" I ask.

The woman turns toward me, and I see her eyes go wide in recognition, and then become calm again.

"Commander Sasaki…" She begins.

I nod.

"I need some information." I begin. "His name is Daisuke Egawa, and I'd like whatever you have on him." I ask.

She looks at me, and then she turns toward one of the people in the room.

"Chie, I need all the information you have on a rogue named Daisuke Egawa." She orders, and then shifts her gaze back to me. "It's going to take about an hour to get any pertinent information about him from our outposts, so while you wait, you should know which room in the complex is reserved for you, and I'll have one of my aides show Miss Raika and your guest to a room."

I shake my head.

"Show them to the lounge, but I will take the time to relax and take a shower." I tell her. "It's been a while."

She nods, and I turn to the two of them.

"Do either of you two have a problem with that?" I ask simply.

They both shake their heads.

"I don't." Raika responds.

Himeko shakes her head, keeping her agreement silent.

I walk past the two of them, and I see one of Chie's aides approach the two of them, and as I walk into the complex, I remember where the room I was given is, and I walk toward it. I get inside the room quickly, and I close the door behind me.

The interior of the room is basically an ornate bedroom, with candles lining the room on shelves all around the room, and a full body mirror next to the bed. There's a chair and a desk with candles on it, and no other source of light in the room, giving the entire room a creepy feel to it.

_It's weird; all of these captured bases we've found have had this same room in each of them, which is why they assume that these bases were all built by the same person…_

I shake my head to clear my thoughts, and then I pull my left arm into the cloak, and then through the collar of the cloak, undoing the clasp and unzipping the cloak, pulling it off of me and then sliding it off, revealing the clothes I wear underneath the cloak…

I wear a sleeveless black vest, with black pants and black shoes. My right arm has burn scars all up and down my arm, my left arm relatively undamaged in comparison…

_Been a while since I took a look at myself like this, then again it's been a while since I stopped at all…_

As I stare at the mirror, I hear a knock at the door, and I half turn toward the door, looking at it with my Sharingan…

_This scent…_

"Enter…" I say calmly.

The door opens, and I see Himeko standing there, her arms at her sides, a determined look on her face.

"Himeko, is something the matter?" I ask.

She steps into the room, and she looks at me, the determination still on her face.

"Tsuzaku, do you still have feelings for me?" She asks rather simply.

I release a breath, and for several heartbeats, I don't say anything, looking for the words…

"I told you I'd come back." I finally manage to say. "A day didn't pass during our time apart that I didn't think about you." I finish.

"That doesn't answer my question…" She trails, obviously not happy with the answer…

"Himeko, I care about you, I really do." I manage to get out, a sweat beginning to form on my brow.

"Do you love me?" She asks.

"I love you, Himeko." I finally admit the feelings. "I had time to think about it these last four years, and over that time, I realized how I felt about you."

I see tears begin to form in her eyes.

_There you go you idiot, you made her cry…_

"Himeko, I didn't mean to…" I begin, but a sound cuts me off.

Even in the bunker, the sound of an explosion on the surface is loud enough for me to hear, and I know that such a thing cannot be good.

_Oh great, couldn't have better timing…_

I react instinctively for the cloak, scooping it up and throwing it over my shoulders, sliding my arms through it and fastening it in front of me.

"Sorry, but it looks like we won't be able to have a happy moment." I say, and she nods, wiping away the tears.

"Lord Tsuzaku!" I hear Chie's voice from down the hall, and she runs into the open doorway. "We've got a problem sir!"

I raise my eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"There's a ninja outside, and he claims to be here to kill you."

I mutter a curse under my breath.

"All right, have the men stay away from him, I'm on my way."

With that, Chie stands aside as I leave the room and run at a normal speed, taking off for the steps that lead to the surface. As I run, feel two people come up behind me, and a quick glance back shows Himeko and Raika behind me, only a few steps, nothing more…

"What are you two doing?" I demand.

"I'm coming with you." Himeko says.

"I'm going to protect you, Lord Tsuzaku." Raika comes back.

I decide not to pursue an argument, neither girl is going to listen to my reasoning, no matter how sound and logical it is…

_Women, you can't live with them, and you can't kill them, sometimes…_

I see the door to steps open, and I hit the steps at a run, taking off up the steps rather quickly, and in a few moments, I'm at the top of the steps, and I see a figure surrounded by ninja, and I see one of them turn around, and then a murmur moves through the crowd, and I see them part, revealing the figure that stands in the middle of the surrounding ninja.

He's dressed in a black Jounin uniform, with short dark hair, and a cloud headband around his forehead.

"YOU!" He yells in contempt, upon seeing me.

Even with the Sharingan, which can remember not just jutsu, but also faces and other such important information, I don't recognize him.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.

"You're the one responsible for my brother's death!" He yells, and I see him look at me with hatred in his eyes.

"So?" I ask. "If I killed your brother, it was because he was a criminal, and was avoiding the authorities."

"My brother was trying to change the world, and you stopped him before he could!" He yells. "I'm going to kill you for that, and then I'm going to finish what my brother started."

I shake my head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that."

I close my eyes, and the ninja sees me do so, and charges, hoping to take advantage of my temporary loss of sight to strike a blow, and I activate something within my eyes, and then open them completely, looking directly into the ninja's eyes…

In a split second, the genjutsu has taken effect, and he's locked in it…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The ninja kneels, chained to a stone wall, his legs shackled, his arms up and out at a 45 degree angle, as if he were hung from the cross. The cell is dark, and he looks up to see me step forward from the darkness, a single window casting an eerie red light into the room from the large red moon in the night's sky…

"What the hell is this?" He asks.

I grin as I hold up a small pin.

"Tell me, have you ever felt what it's like to be stuck 1000 times by a pin?" I ask, and I see his eyes go wide.

"You're kidding, you can't, what the hell is this?" He asks, looking around, and pulling at the shackles, but they will not give.

"This is your punishment." I say, stabbing the pin into him.

He tries to struggle, but I manage to continually stab the pin into him, causing more and more pin sized holes in his skin. He starts groaning in pain as I stab him more and more, and the chains get tighter and tighter as he struggles. Finally, his arms are pulled against the wall as his legs are stretched out against the floor, the chains having pulled his body to the wall.

"You see?" I ask as blood oozes from over 200 pin sized holes in his body. "Struggling only makes it hurt more."

He breathes heavily, his eyes are half closed, the pain probably starting to get to him, but he is a well trained ninja, he had never once screamed out, or begged me to stop, something I would have to change…

The pin goes into his skin more and more, causing more and more trickles of blood to come from his skin, and before long I know, that he'll bleed to death, or at least, that's what he's hoping for…

"Oh no, you aren't going to bleed to death." I say, driving the needle into his crotch, through his pants, and hitting the target I'm aiming for…

"GAHHHH!" He screams in pain, his left testicle penetrated by the pin.

I can feel a smile on my face.

"Does that hurt?" I ask innocently. "Let's try the other one then…"

As I remove the pin, I can see a wet mark begin to appear in his pants, either urine or the blood seeping from his testicle…

"No…" He begins, only to scream anew as the pin goes into his other testicle.

"This will not stop." I tell him. "Not until I've pierced you 1000 times with this pin."

As I remove the pin from his private part, he stops screaming and exhales roughly, breathing heavily, his eyes ready to close…

"Please no, just kill me…" He begs. "No more…"

I continue to smile sadistically.

"Oh no, we haven't gotten to the fun part yet…"

I shift the pin to the target between the previous two, and then down some, knowing exactly where to aim for the tip…

"No…" He begs. "I'll tell you anything, just please no…" He continues to beg, his voice weak.

"What makes you think I want information from you?" I ask.

_He's nearly broken, just a little more…_

I send the pin to its target, and it strikes home, sending a fresh shout of pain and agony from his mouth. I move the pin left and right inside its target, intensifying the scream coming from his mouth…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The ninja stands there, his eyes vacant as he's lost his mind, and I reach down with my left hand, withdrawing a single kunai from my pouch, and throwing the weapon with deadly accuracy, never once breaking eye contact with him as the knife stabs into his head, ending his life with a wet noise, his body falling back with a thud…

He'd only been under the effect of the genjutsu for a few moments, but it was plenty of time. I shift my gaze to Himeko, and I see her eyes go wide, as the Sharingan in my eyes is different from what it was before I'd closed my eyes…

_He'd called it the Mangekyo Sharingan, and with this power, I can use that Genjutsu, along with the perfected form of the Amaterasu. _

The pupil of my Mangekyo Sharingan looks different from a normal Sharingan. The three tomoe within the eye change into zigzag lines that go from the tip of the retina to the pupil in the center of the eye, and it's a strange sensation, having looked at Mangekyo Sharingan in the mirror once, and only once…

I close my eyes and turn the power off, leaving my normal Sharingan in its place.

"Tsuzaku…" Himeko asks, and I nod.

"What is it, Himeko?" I ask her.

She shakes her head.

"It's nothing." She manages, and turns away from me.

"I'm going to go take a shower." I explain, feeling the toll the Tsukuyomi took. "I'll be done in about an hour, so feel free to walk around the base until then."

As I turn and walk back toward the base, Raika moves to follow me, but I look at her, and motion toward Himeko, and she understands simply enough, realizing that I want her to talk to Himeko, to try and help her get back inside…

_She's probably just scarred, that's all. That or what I just did dug up some bad memories of the past when that monster took control and used that jutsu to kill those people…_

As I come down the steps, hearing my footsteps against the stairway, a small whisper barely audible in my ear wisps into my ears.

"You're becoming more and more like me…" Its voice says so quiet that I don't think I even hear it, shaking my head.

_Ever since I gained the Mangekyo Sharingan, I've only used it once, not until just now. My Sharingan alone is powerful enough, and with the powers I gain with the Mangekyo, it's scary. Even though I'm the one using it, that Tsukuyomi scares me to death. The things I do to people in that illusion I create send chills down my spine, and what's worse is during the illusion, I find myself enjoying every second of the torture…_


	14. Chapter 14

(A/N: Well, this is the 14th Chapter of the Chronicles of Tsuzaku. Some of you wanted to know what would happen when Tsuzaku reunites with his father and this chapter answers that question. The repercussions of Tsuzaku using the Tsukuyomi happen here as well. Anyway, positive reviews are ALWAYS welcome, and I always appreciate them. Personally, I didn't think this fic was that good, and I still don't think it's that good, so tell me how I'm doing.)

Chapter 14: The Mist and the Menace.

The hour passes relatively quickly, during that time I shower and relax, allowing my chakra to return to me during the small break, and after I feel rested, I go searching for Himeko and Raika…

_Amazing that they'd be gone this long, though I didn't find Raika in her room, so I can only assume she's with Himeko…_

I walk around the base, getting bows of respect and salutes as I walk around, returning the salutes, realizing that most of the people here know who I am, and they either respect or fear me…

I come to the training room, a large room designed like a Gymnasium, with various ninja training equipment sprawled out across the large room, including a sparring area. As I walk inside, I find my targets facing each other in the sparring area, both of them wearing safety gear, not wanting to really hurt each other…

I stop in my tracks, taking in their dead locked stance, staring each other down, each waiting for the other to make a move…

Himeko does, shifting from her gentle fist stance, she charges, but it's a deliberate charge, her Byakugan in her eyes, examining her opponent like a fine microscope…

She thrusts her palm forward, and Raika blocks using her own palm, shunting the attack away from her, knowing full well what will happen if she normally blocks it…

Himeko counters, going for a leg sweep, and Raika hops over her leg, moving backward to put some space between her and her attacker. I watch as Himeko finishes the sweep and then charges, throwing another palm at Raika, which Raika promptly shunts away from her, trying to prevent the girl from striking her chakra network…

_Himeko's improved, during the Chunin exams, her strikes seemed to give off much more chakra then they do now, her attacks are precise and deadly, and only a small amount of chakra is released through her hands, and even then, when Raika deflects the blow, she stops the bulk of the chakra from escaping, thus allowing her to conserve, and fight even longer…_

Himeko fires a palm thrust from her right hand, going out and around, trying to get behind Raika's arms and come at her from the side, maybe to try and knock the girl off balance as well as hit the chakra network inside her head.

Having stopped the previous attack, Raika shifts her left arm to knock the palm away, keeping the damage done to a minimum, when…

Himeko's left leg comes up, striking Raika in the jaw, and sending the girl into the air. As Raika begins to go into the air, I see Himeko plant her left foot into the ground, and then begin to spin around, and releasing a burst of chakra from her body, I watch as she catches Raika in the spin and throws the girl around, and then sends her flying from the spin toward the padded wall.

As Himeko stops the spin, and Raika reorients herself and lands on her feet against the wall, I can see the mat has been dug at where Himeko spun, and Raika glares at the other girl, a flare of anger flashing before her eyes, a look I've seen before…

"That's enough now!" I yell out, starting forward again.

Raika blinks and shifts her gaze, while Himeko turns toward me.

"Lord Tsuzaku…" Raika begins standing on the wall using her chakra, and Himeko just looks at me, a strange expression on her face.

"What's wrong Himeko, did something happen?"

She looks away, as if trying to find the words to speak.

I hear a light thud as Raika lands on her feet, and then approach the two of us.

"Himeko has had a problem that she can't solve." Raika says simply, and I see the other girl blush, indicating they'd been talking during the time I was absent. "She told me whenever she looks at you, she's reminded of the 'demon' that she saw you become during the Chunin exams 4 years ago."

It all clicks in my head, and I sigh heavily.

"Himeko, you don't have anything to worry about." I tell her. "I've learned to harness and control him, so you don't have to worry about him coming out again."

She shakes her head.

"I'm not worried about him coming out…" She begins. "I'm worried that you're going to become just like him."

The words sink deep, and the sad tone that she uses sinks even deeper…

"You know I wouldn't…" I begin.

She shakes her head.

"You used that terrible jutsu on that ninja, you killed him, and you acted like you enjoyed it." She tells me.

"I wouldn't…" I begin, but she cuts me off.

"Have you changed so much in these last 4 years that you'd use a power like that, that you don't care how you win, just as long as you're the one who survives?"

I open my mouth to defend myself, but I can't find the words, part of me knows she's right. I didn't need to use the Mangekyo Sharingan against that ninja, and I did anyway…

"You're wrong." Raika finally says, looking at Himeko. "Lord Tsuzaku fears that power, more then you do."

She looks at me with a puzzled look, and I just nod.

"I've never seen him use that power during a fight before now." Raika explains. "The only other time I saw that power was when Lord Tsuzaku looked at himself in the mirror."

She continues to look at me, and I nod, affirming what Raika has told her.

"I've only used that jutsu in another person once before." I finally manage. "It scares me, and sends shivers down my spine when I think about using it."

I hear footsteps behind me, and I half turn to see Shiru approach us, holding a clipboard.

"Lord Tsuzaku, we have the information you requested." She says, handing the clipboard to me.

I take it and I look it over.

_It's a profile for this Daisuke Egawa…_

"Name: Daisuke Egawa, born July 30th, Age: 25 years old, ID number: 23718-0965, Home Village: Village Hidden in the Rocks, Last seen in the Village Hidden in the Mist." I finish reading the information.

"I've had a wagon prepared for you sir, knowing you, I'd figured you'd want to depart immediately."

I give her a nod, and then turn back to the rest of them.

"We need to get going, if we don't, Hizashi is going to have his eyes taken from him." I say simply, the cause of helping her extended family putting the current argument behind Himeko.

"Yes, we do." She says.

"Oh, Lord Tsuzaku, I also brought this." Shiru says, and I turn around, seeing her holding a folded up black garment.

"Thank you Shiru, I assume the wagon is outside the main doors?"

She nods, and I take the folded up black cloak from her.

"It's ready whenever you're ready to go, shall I tell the driver you're on the way?"

I nod.

"Please, do." I respond, and the girl nods, bowing once.

"If you'll excuse me then…"

She turns and walks away, and leaves me holding the cloak, and I turn to Himeko.

"I had this made for you." I tell her, extending it to her. "You don't have to accept, and I'm not going to make you."

She looks at it curiously, as if she knows what it is, but doesn't believe that it is what it is. She takes it from me, and then unfurls it in front of her, revealing the red cloud designs on the cloak, nearly identical to mine…

"This is…" She begins, and I nod.

"I'm inviting you into Akatsuki." I tell her.

She glances at me.

"Are you doing this for political reasons?" She asks, and I shake my head.

"I'm doing this because I'd like you to work beside me, and I know I can trust you."

She looks at the cloak, and then to Raika, and even I can tell that Raika doesn't like the situation, but she keeps her mouth shut about it.

"If I accept, would I have to follow your orders?"

I shake my head no.

"In my Akatsuki, the people who wear that cloak are all of the same rank and distinction, they command the other members of the group like Generals, and those members of the group are the ones who take care of problems that normal people can't." I tell her. "In short, I use these cloaks to mark the Elite within Akatsuki."

She looks at me, and then at Raika.

"I'm not going to be your servant." She tells me, and I nod.

"I'm not asking you to serve me, I'm asking for your help." I respond truthfully.

She nods, unzipping the cloak and wrapping it around her body, sliding her arms inside, the cloak fitting perfectly.

"You can close it." I tell her, and she shakes her head.

"I'd rather leave it open." She responds, and I smile.

"Thank you, Himeko."

Raika clears her throat.

"Sorry to disrupt your little induction ceremony, but didn't you say we needed to get moving, Lord Tsuzaku?" She asks, a tone of distaste in her voice, obviously not comfortable with the drawn out ceremony of Himeko becoming her equal in my eyes…

I nod.

"You're right Raika." I tell her, turning toward the door.

"We need to get moving."

The three of us start off out of the gym, and before long we're to the surface, and I see the canvas covered wagon waiting at the top of the bunker, a black horse pulling the contraption…

"So, this is a horse drawn wagon…" Himeko says. "They don't have them in the Village, so I've never seen one before."

I nod.

"We use them to get around, it's a lot faster then going by foot, and it saves a lot of walking."

As we approach, the driver looks around the right side of the wagon at us, and opens his mouth.

"Hello folks." He says, hopping down and walking over to us. "I'll be your driver, my name's Negi." He explains.

I nod.

"We're headed to the Village Hidden in the Mist."

He nods.

"I know." He says, motioning toward the rear of the wagon. "If you'll climb aboard, then we can get this trip underway."

The three of us move to the rear of the wagon, and we all climb into the wagon, seeing it's undecorated and lacking any chairs, we all take seats around the rectangular space, the driver separated by a wooden wall.

"We're off." He says.

I feel the wagon shift as he climbs on, and I hear the sound of the reins smacking as he gets the horse in motion, and the wagon starts in motion, the wheels beginning to turn. I sit there, and I feel a sigh of frustration leave my mouth and I look over at Himeko, feeling disgust beginning to well up in my stomach.

_You've been a real idiot, you know that? You actually had something good going with her, and you screwed it up by using the Mangekyo Sharingan, which you never should've even bothered using in the first place!_

The Hyuga girl looks up at me, and I see her eyes show uncertainty in them.

I want to say something, to tell her I'm sorry, or that I wish I could undo what I've done, but my mouth won't move, and a moment after she looks into my eyes, she looks away.

_Damn it all to hell!_

I smack the back of the my head into the wall of the wagon, and I close my eyes, feeling the fatigue of the last couple of days coming back to me, and that I truly haven't slept well in the last few days, only nodding off and sleeping for a few hours each night, and not much else. I feel my body get heavy, and sleep comes rather easily, my mind going blank, consciousness slipping away into nothingness…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I stand in the darkness, the bars of the cell before me, and the creature in the darkness beyond, it's still his normal Sharingan. I can see only that, and the whites of his eyes beyond the bars, and nothing else, everything else cloaked in shadow.

"You again…" I mutter, and I see his eyes shift.

"It's been a while…" He begins. "Close to 3 years, if my sense of time is still right."

I blink, feeling his intentional probe for information, trying to get me to tell him something that he doesn't know, and I shake my head.

"It's been a while." I respond simply. "And as far as I'm concerned, not long enough."

I see his eyes shift, and I see a crease appear on his face.

"So, you don't like me now, do you?"

"I've never liked you." I tell him. "You've caused me nothing but trouble."

I see the crease spread into a toothy grin.

"But, without me, you'd be dead, and the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan-"

I cut him off.

"I never wanted the Mangekyo Sharingan!" I tell him, cutting him off. "I only wanted to get stronger; I never needed the power of Tsukuyomi or anything like that!" I yell.

He smiles.

"The quickest path to power was the one you took, and now with that power, you've killed several people, people you've determined were criminals, and made the world a better place."

Even though it sounds like a compliment, and he's telling me that I've made the world better, his tone belies a second meaning, one that he's enjoying what he's saying, and enjoying my use of the Mangekyo, and my actions since I've gained that power…

"Why are you complimenting me?" I ask. "You've never done anything to compliment me, only hated your situation at being powerless at being sealed within me!"

I see the grin turn into an almost gleeful smile.

"What makes you think that I'm still powerless to get out of you?"

The words are cryptic as they enter my ears, and I feel a jolt, like something bumping me up and down…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

My eyes open, and I see I'm back in the wagon; nothing's changed since I managed to doze off…

_I was dreaming? Well, I guess that's to be expected, but why did he show up again now, and what did he mean by that last statement?_

I look to see Raika sitting there, appearing to be asleep, but I know better. She looks to be asleep, but she's really in a sort of meditative version of sleep, and I extend my right leg, touching her leg, and her eyes pop open as Himeko sits there, and I can judge that she is in fact asleep, unlike Raika, and like I was a moment ago…

"Lord Tsuzaku…" Raika mutters and I motion for her to sit next to me, not wanting to have to speak across the wagon, loud enough to wake up Himeko…

The girl moves, crawling across the wagon and sitting on my right side, opposite of Himeko.

"What is it Lord Tsuzaku?" She asks, in a whisper, showing concern for Himeko still sleeping.

"I just…" I begin, not really knowing what it is I wanted to talk to the girl about.

She notices me look toward Himeko, and then back to the floor.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" She whispers, and I nod, feeling ashamed that I can't admit it. "So, what's wrong then?"

I sigh.

"I can't stand it when she looks at me the way she does, she looks at me like I'm some sort of monster, and she's afraid of me, I can tell."

Not for the first time, I curse the insight granted to me by the Sharingan…

I hear Raika sigh, and I look to see her look up at the wagon ceiling, her mouth half open.

"She's really lucky, you know." She tells me. "She has your love and your protection, and you want nothing more then her acceptance, it's a beautiful thing."

I shake my head.

"She's afraid of me; she thinks I'm turning into some sort of monster."

"Then show her you aren't." She tells me. "Let your actions speak for you, save this cousin of hers, and do it without the Mangekyo Sharingan."

I nod.

"Thanks, Raika."

She giggles lightly.

"You know, I'm really jealous of that girl…" She tells me.

My eyes flare in recognition…

_I've seen jealousy make people do things that they would otherwise never do. It's Chisato's jealousy of Himeko and the Hyuga clan that's led her to do what she's trying to do, and if Raika is REALLY jealous of Himeko, then she could try and kill her, and if she fought Himeko for real…_

"Raika…" I begin, and she smiles.

"Don't worry Lord Tsuzaku." She tells me, assuaging me of my fears. "More then anything else, I want to see you happy, even if it means you being with another girl."

I shake my head.

"Raika, you can't just sacrifice yourself like that." I tell her. "It isn't right, and it isn't natural." I tell her. "You should value your own happiness, not the happiness of someone else."

She smiles.

"But, when I see you happy, I am happy, Lord Tsuzaku."

At this point, many people would abandon this girl, and I know that. However, I can't just give up on her. I know there's a normal person inside her, and I know that I can help her to recover and become mentally stable…

"Raika, you can't value my happiness as an absolute." I tell her. "You have to learn to strive for your own happiness, and to give yourself a goal in life, something you want to accomplish, something you want to do, anything."

She smiles.

"I want to see you happy, Lord Tsuzaku, even if it means you marrying another girl and living together for the rest of my life."

The disparity in the statement is unlike anything I've ever heard her say. This girl has mental issues, and she's going to have to confront them and learn that I'm not the only person in the world…

_I just hope that I can help her through it. She's devoted herself to me ever since that day 2 years ago, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay her…_

I sigh again.

"All right Raika." I tell her. "It's going to be a while before we arrive at the village, so we should all try and get some sleep."

She nods.

"Yes, Lord Tsuzaku."

For the first time, I wonder if my actions back then were really for the best…

As I close my eyes, my mind thinks back to that day…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

It was late, the moon nearly full in the sky. I had been in the forest training for the majority of the 2 years that had passed since I left Konoha. I survived in the wilderness, using my ninja skills as well my own instincts to survive, and one day I finished my training, and decided to start traveling, going on a personal quest to find strong allies to assist me in my quest to eliminate all the world's criminals.

I was making my way through the forest toward a village, when I saw movement in the trees ahead. My Sharingan allowed me to pick up on the movement ahead, and it was too large to be an animal, and too small to be a fully grown person. As I made my way forward, I moved silently, moving through the trees without a noise, staying in the shadows to stay hidden.

I found a small clearing within the forest that really wasn't a clearing, just a small space where no trees grew, but was still shaded by trees that grew overhead. In the small space, I could see a fire, and what sounded like a girl, wearing little more then what looked like a bag of potatoes with holes in it, with her back to me, gnawing on something like a savage.

I became curious, unable to rationalize how a person, much less a human being, could degenerate into such a state. I move around the small area, getting a better look at the girl's front, and confirming what my ears told me that it was in fact a girl. She didn't look to be any older then I was, and her hair was long and unkempt, her skin nearly covered in a layer of dirt. She looked like she hadn't bathed in along time, and hadn't groomed herself in just as long. I can see a Hidden Cloud Headband on her forehead, but other then that, she wears nothing recognizable as ninja equipment.

Over the fire in front of her, I could see what looked like a Rabbit carcass, cooking over the fire on a makeshift rotisserie. The rabbit was already missing both legs, and had been skinned and cleaned fairly well, the meat still cooking over the fire. I could see what looked like a rabbit's leg in her hand, and she gnaws at it like a demon, sucking all the meat off the bone like she hadn't eaten in a week. My left hand went for a kunai as I watched, realizing that this girl just might attack me, and I might need to defend myself.

As I moved closer, and got a better look at her, I can see her red eyes reflected in the fire's light, and they reminded me of the color of blood.

I took a step forward and felt my foot land on twig. Before I can stop myself from shifting my weight, I feel my foot snap the twig in half, making a loud SNAP sound where only the crackling of the fire had existed before.

She reacted to the noise in a split second, dropping the leg and her head spinning toward me. I could tell that I was close enough for the fire to illuminate me, and the way she hunched down, she was in the perfect position to spring forward on all fours and tackle me down.

She let out an animalistic growl and lunged for me, her fingernails long and unkempt, the same for her feet. I moved with all available speed, trying to use the kunai to slice her as she grabs at my left hand with her right, her left hand going for my face. My right hand grabs her left by her wrist, and she lets out a growl, and I can see the anger and rage in her eyes…

"DIE!" She let out in a single word, and at that moment, I felt a surge of electricity shoot through my body, and sending me flying back against the ground and into a tree.

As my back slammed into the tree and I fell face first, I felt as though I had just been struck by a bolt of lightning. My first instinct was to look up, and I saw the girl charging for me, ready to use her fingernails like weapons. I had no choice, my body wouldn't move quickly enough, not in the condition it was in, so I closed my eyes and reopened them, calling the Mangekyo Sharingan into my eyes when I closed them. I locked eyes with her, using the Genjutsu for the first time, and I felt the illusion take hold…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Lord Tsuzaku?" I hear her voice, and I open my eyes, to see that I'm once again in the wagon, only the seemingly endless bumping has stopped. "We've arrived, my Lord."

I look around.

"Where's Himeko?" I ask, noticing that she isn't in the wagon.

"She's outside, trying to use her Byakugan to see into the village."

I nod, and then I slide past her toward the rear of the wagon, and I hop out onto the ground, landing on my feet, I look around and I see we're on a hill overlooking the Village Hidden in the Mist. Befitting its name, there's an ethereal fog everywhere, and even with my Sharingan, I can barely see through it. I see Himeko standing near the edge of the cliff, peering down toward the Village, and I approach her calmly, placing my right hand on her left shoulder, Raika following suit and jumping off the wagon.

"Come on, no matter how powerful your Byakugan, there's no way you're going to be able to find this guy from up here." I tell her. "We need to head down there and go find him."

She turns, and I see a grim expression on her face as the Byakugan fades from her eyes.

"I know…" She begins; a somber tone to her voice.

_She wants to rescue her cousin, and I sympathize, as much as I can I guess. I don't have any extended family, but if she ever was in this situation, I'd want to save her pretty badly too. _

"This is far as we go." I hear Negi's voice, and I turn around to see him standing next to the wagon. "From here on in, you're on your own." He tells us.

I nod.

"I understand, and thank you Negi." I tell him. "Your service is greatly appreciated."

He nods.

"I'd go with you, but there are people down there who would have me killed if they knew I was there, so…"

I shake my head.

"It is fine Negi; you should get out of here before too long."

He nods, getting back on his wagon and slapping the reins, starting the horses off away from the village, leaving Himeko, Raika, and myself standing there, overlooking the Village Hidden in the Mist.

I turn around and face them both one at a time, and then I reach up and grab at the knot holding my headband on my head, and I undo it, removing the Leaf symbol from my head.

"What are you doing, Lord Tsuzaku?" Raika asks before Himeko can.

"Ninja from other countries aren't allowed to enter each other's villages without reason, and we can't say we're chasing a criminal without some sort of authorization from the Hokage, so it's best if we just pretend we're travelers." I tell them.

Himeko glances at me, and then at Raika.

"You mean they're going to believe that three people wearing the same cloaks, one of whom with an active kekkei genkai, are just travelers passing through."

I reach into my cloak and withdraw a hat like the one I left in the village Hidden in the Leaves…

"This is for the kekkei genkai." I tell her, putting the hat on my head, and adjusting it. "As for the other parts, there are worse disguises we could take."

She shrugs, and then undoes her headband, and Raika follows suit.

"I'm going to keep my headband in my pocket out of sight; I'd suggest you do the same."

They both nod and conceal their headbands, and then I turn around, looking at the Mist village from underneath the hat.

"Let's be off, the longer we wait, the closer Chisato comes to stealing that poor child's eyes."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

15 minutes, a long walk later, the three of us are on the path approaching the Hidden Mist Village's gate, and two guards stand guard, dressed as Shinobi. As we walk toward the gate, one of the male guards speaks up.

"Excuse me." He says, and the three of us stop.

"What is it?" I ask, keeping my hat over my eyes.

"What business do you have in our village?" The guard asks, looking the three of us over.

_He couldn't suspect could he? No, he doesn't suspect, he's just doing his job, so stay calm…_

"We're travelers, going to the Hidden Village of Konoha, and we needed some supplies rather badly, and we saw this village was close, so we decided to come here."

The guard looks me over closely.

"Why are you all wearing the same cloak?" He asks.

"We recently had a family member die, and these cloaks are the attire of mourning in our clan."

He looks at Himeko, and then at Raika, and then back to me.

"Her eyes are different from hers." He says, pointing to Himeko and then Raika. "And you're covering yours."

I sigh.

"The girl on my right is my wife." I explain, referring to Himeko. "The other girl is my sister."

I can only imagine the kind of feelings that statement is kicking up inside Himeko at the moment, though I know better then to glance back and see how's she's reacting, knowing she would never let an emotion like embarrassment show in this situation.

The guard looks somewhat surprised, and then looks at Himeko.

"Is this true?" He asks, and she nods.

"Yes, we were betrothed to each other since before birth." She explains, adding to the lie.

_Nice save Himeko…_

"Oh…" The guard mutters, looking a little taken aback. "Well, it still doesn't explain why you're covering your eyes." He says, looking back at me.

"It was my brother who died." I tell him. "In my family, it is customary that I wear this hat of mourning until after the funeral." I explain. "It not only marks me, but it reminds me of my loss, and prevents me from forgetting him until after the funeral."

He nods, though I can tell he doesn't quite believe what I've told him.

"Well, it doesn't seem the three of you are going to be any trouble." He says. "However, your time in the village will be limited to 2 days." He tells us. "You'll be watched from the minute you enter the village to the minute you leave, so don't try and lose the people following you, or you'll become an enemy of the village, and hunted down."

I nod.

"Thank you, sir…" I say, using a humble tone. "We're only going to stay the night, and buy supplies tomorrow morning, and then we'll be gone."

He nods, and then he stands aside, and allows the three of us to enter the village. We all do so, trying to keep calm as we walk past the guards and then enter the village.

The village, like the area around it, is shrouded in mist, and water is everywhere. Even though it's into the evening hours, people still bound in the village, the main street of the village apparently a center for night life and the young crowd. As we walk down the street, I move to one side, finding an empty path of road and stopping there, Himeko and Raika close behind.

"Well, what now?" Raika asks. "We've only got 2 days to find this guy, and there's no guarantee that Chisato is already here with the boy!"

I nod.

"We'll split up under the pretext of looking for a cheap hotel." I explain. "Wherever this Daisuke Egawa is, he'll be hiding incognito in a cheap hotel with a bar, so try and focus your search onto establishments like that."

The two girls nod.

"We'll meet back in an hour." I explain, putting my radio earpiece into my ear. "I'm on frequency 14.57, if I find anything, I'll radio you."

The two of them nod again.

"If I find him, I'll call." Himeko says, walking away, and Raika just turns and walks away, a single nod her only affirmation.

_Well, I'm on my own for the hour, so I may as well get to looking…_

I start off in a direction away from Himeko and Chisato, and I imagine that the ninja who are tailing us are cursing at the moment, since we're splitting up, but haven't done anything worth bringing us in for. It doesn't take long as I walk, for me to find a shady looking hotel with a sign that reads 'Hirosaki's Hotel and Bar.' I stop outside it, and then I walk inside, knowing whoever is following me will probably follow me inside the dive.

Since I'm hardly old enough to be in here legally, I'm going to have to rely on genjutsu to buy me enough time to do a through search of all the customers in the place, and as I look around the dimly lit bar, I can tell that searching through everyone at the bar would take hours, not to mention a high powered spot light…

I take a look around the room, and I can see that there are several older people in here, most of whom wallowing in their own misery, while others are just stewing in their own juices…

A man sitting at the bar catches my eye; he doesn't have the air of a drunkard, or for anyone who should be in a place like this. He sits alone, and he looks like he isn't very interested in the drink in his hands…

I approach him, and I take a seat next to him, and I see him glance at me, and then look back at his drink.

"Never seen you before…" He says.

I shake my head.

"I'm just passing through…" I explain.

He grins.

"Oh well." He says, returning his eyes to his drink, and he takes the drink to his lips.

"Mind if I ask you some questions?" I ask.

He shrugs.

"That depends on what you're paying."

I motion for the bartender.

"By him another glass of whatever he's having." I tell him.

The bartender looks at me, and I lay the money down, and he nods, starting to mix the drink.

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Have you ever met someone named Chisato Shiriyuki?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"Name doesn't ring a bell." He says.

"Blonde, roughly 16 years old, blue eyes, firm skin."

He shakes his head again.

"Nope, I can't say I've seen her."

"Do you know anyone who could perform an ocular transplant?" I ask. "Other then yourself, that is?"

He raises his eyebrows.

"So, you know who I am, do you?"

"I'm the one asking the questions."

"Either way, the answer's going to cost you."

I lay out more money on the bar, and I motion for the bartender.

"Another one after he finishes his current drink." I tell him, and the bartender nods.

He looks at me, and then shakes his head.

"No, there isn't anyone else around that can perform that level of surgery, who isn't aligned with one of the five major nations."

I nod.

"That's good…" I begin, sliding my right hand back into my cloak's sleeve.

He looks me over, and I see his far hand move down his body, and I see him pull a kunai from his pouch, and he moves fast, fast enough that my Sharingan can barely track the movements. I leap back, landing on my feet as his kunai slash misses me, knocking the hat off my head and sending the straw hat to the ground.

"My hat…" I mutter.

He looks at me, and I see him stare into my eyes, recognizing the Sharingan in my eyes…

"I know you…" He begins, looking at me as I stand to my full height. "You're the one who killed Hiro, the guy who founded that Akatsuki!" He tells me, and I don't deny the allegations.

"What of it?" I ask.

"What do you want with me?" He asks. "I've done nothing wrong."

I glare at him, keeping my face cold.

"You've committed crimes against humanity on several occasions by experimenting on live human subjects." I say, remembering his file. "You've also performed illegal surgeries on several people."

"All of whom asked for my services."

I scoff.

"You mean by surgically altering their bodies so they're not human anymore?"

He grins.

"You're telling me that Sharingan of yours is normal for a human being?"

I winch my right eyebrow.

"My kekkei genkai is natural, what you do to people isn't."

I charge forward, pulling a kunai from within my cloak, I hold the knife in my right hand. He shifts his weight as I bring the knife toward his throat, and he focuses on the blade, stopping it with a kunai of his own, and parrying my attack rather easily…

I drop down and extend my right leg, spinning around in a leg sweep motion, taking Daisuke's legs out from under him, he moves into a fall, and I clasp my hands together, making hand signs around the kunai…

"Fire Release…" I begin. "Dragon Flame Missile."

I face his falling body, and I release the blast of flame from my mouth and fire it at him, and I see him get hit with the fire, and then I turn around, seeing him appear behind me as he uses a replacement jutsu while the fire burns off rather quickly…

"Pretty good…" I mutter, standing up and facing him.

He looks at me, and I can see that he's rattled, that he doesn't want to underestimate my Sharingan…

"You can't beat me." I explain. "My Sharingan is too powerful, even for you."

He raises his eyebrows, and I can see what he's thinking, even though I can't really read his mind…

"Yes, I can read your thoughts." I tell him, and his eyes go wide in disbelief.

"Can you read my mind?" He asks aloud as he thinks it, and I nod a sadistic smile on my face.

"Yes, I can." I assuage his fears.

He blinks once, and then shakes his head.

"No, you can't fool me!" He shakes, shaking his head no.

I see him start making hand signs, and I open my eyes completely, fully exposing my Sharingan…

He makes the final hand sign, and holds his hand out, my hands move quickly, making in a split second the signs he just made.

"Water Release: Rapid Crasher!" We both name the technique.

It's like a mirror image, as the two of us hold our hands out and water forms in them, the blasts of water striking each other, and then canceling each other out, spreading water all around the bar.

By now most of the bar patrons have vacated the bar, and even the bartender has left…

As the last of the water falls, he looks at me, and he spreads his legs, separating his hands, his fingers half coiled in an expression of both disbelief and fear…

"It can't be…" He mutters, and I stare at him, bringing myself up to my full height, my arms at my sides.

"It's just as I said, you can't beat me."

"I don't believe you!" We both say in unison, and he looks surprised at my copying his speech. "Stop that!" We continue in unison.

He stops, and I can see that he's rattled, and he shifts his left leg back, as if contemplating retreat…

"You can't run." I tell him. "No matter what you do, I'm going to kill you."

He shakes his head.

"You can't read my mind!" We both say together. "I don't know what trick you're using, but I'm going to prove how worthless your Sharingan is!"

He starts making hand signs, and I copy them perfectly, and he stops, holding a sign, but having not finished the sequence, and I can see what's going on through his mind…

_He's seeing an image of himself in me, and he's wondering what's going on. I have to strike before he can think his way through…_

My hands move quickly, going through a long sequence of hand signs in mere moments, and holding the last sign…

"Water Release: Water Dragon Blast Jutsu!" I shout.

I see his eyes go wide as I use the jutsu that he was going to use, and I gather the water around me, forming it into a large dragon that wraps around me to the ceiling of the building…

"Impossible!" He yells, turning to run.

The dragon charges; and it hits him head on like a battering ram that sends him flying back through the wall behind him and covering him completely in water. He lays there with his back on the ground, and he looks like he's nearly dead. I separate my hands and I walk forward, nearly all the water now outside because I used that water Jutsu…

I approach the newly made hole in the wall, and I look out to see Daisuke lying there, and I see his body begin to move, and he lifts his head up, looking at me.

"What are you?" He asks weakly.

I keep my face cold.

"I'm your killer." I tell him.

His head falls down, landing back on the ground with a thud.

He starts to laugh, a near cackle as I stand there, and as I look at him, I notice something isn't right…

"What's so funny?" I ask, my hand shooting into my sleeve, and then coming out with a kunai in my right hand.

He grins.

"Why don't you look closer?" He asks, looking at me with cold eyes.

I look at his face, and I can see pieces of what look like skin starting to peel off, and I curse as his body goes limp, and I spin around, looking for the real Daisuke, and I don't see anyone around, the people on the streets are completely gone, having vacated the street due to the fight…

"Damn it all." I mutter, sliding my hand back into my cloak and sheathing the kunai, my hand sliding out slowly.

I approach the body, and then I kneel down, extending my right hand and checking his pulse on his neck with my right hand, feeling with my pointer and middle fingers…

"No pulse…" I mutter, grabbing at the mask on his face and pulling it away.

I see the face under the mask, and I curse to myself.

_He managed to revive a dead body and temporarily moved it around like a real person. I wonder how long he knew that I was coming, or does he always use dummies like this, rather then use clones?_

I stand up, cursing at myself for having wasted so much chakra and using my Sharingan on a fancy puppet…

_It's amazing that he managed to put so much chakra into a dead body, I've never heard of using that jutsu on a puppet like that, but I guess that's why he's in the Bingo book, and he's managed to survive as an assassin's target for so long…_

I move to press the transmitter in my ear, but in the middle of the motion, three ninja appear around me, all of them holding short swords toward my chest…

"Shit…" I mutter.

The three ninja are obviously ANBU agents from this village, all of them wear long jackets with high hoods that cover nearly their entire body save for the shoes on their feet, and the strange, white animal masks. All three of them wear different masks, one wears a lion mask, another wears a cat mask, and a third wears a fox mask.

"You're under arrest." The fox one says, identifying herself as a woman. "…Under the authority of the Seventh Mizukage."

I raise my hands, and I feel a blunt object strike the back of my head, pain shooting through my neck. I feel consciousness leave my mind, and I feel my body hit the ground hard…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I don't dream, and I don't know how long I'm lying there unconscious. I open my eyes to blackness, and I can feel something wrapped around my eyes, and I realize I'm blindfolded. I feel my arms are held behind my back, and I can feel a cold metal surrounding my hands, obviously I'm bound in a metal pair of hand cuffs that keep your hands separate, to prevent the use of hand signs. I feel a cold wet feeling as I realize that I'm lying down, and I manage to get to my feet, concentrating on my other senses, I sharpen my hearing and sense of smell to above human levels…

The wet dank smell of a dungeon; and the sound of gentle footsteps against a stone floor tell me that at least the floor is made of stone. I can feel the shifting in the air, and I open my mouth.

"Who's there?" I ask, managing to stay on my feet.

"So, you're awake…" I hear a middle aged male voice. "Just stay put, and Lord Mizukage will be here to talk to you shortly."

I nod, and I stand there, unable to even really tell time, and with my eyes blindfolded and my hands bound, I'm relatively helpless. Not wanting to start a war with this village, but not wanting to be helpless should I need to defend myself, I think of what I have to do, and how I could break free, and a simple plan comes to mind, and I file the plan in the back of mind, in case I need it…

Shortly after I hear the guard leave, I hear more footsteps, indicating at least 2 or 3 people coming into the dungeon, and the footsteps stop in front of the cell.

"So, you're awake." I hear Mizu's voice.

I nod.

"Yeah, though I have no idea why your ANBU agents would sneak up on me and knock me out like they did." I explain. "It isn't as though I'm a ninja from another village, and I didn't do anything wrong."

Mizu scoffs, like I'm lying through my teeth.

"You're full of it." She tells me. "You engaged a well known fugitive in combat and failed to kill him." She says. "My agents were shadowing that man for over a week and a half, trying to figure out what his plans are and why he's moving the way he is, and you managed to ruin all of that in the span of 5 minutes." She explains.

I shake my head.

"I tried to kill that ninja because he's been marked for assassination, and because another missing ninja is looking for him."

"Oh?" Mizu asks. "And who is that?"

I shake my head.

"My mission is none of your concern, what you need to worry about is that you need to release me." I explain. "I'm nothing more then a traveler and holding me here is against my rights."

She scoffs again.

"I know that you're a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and I also know that you came here with 2 other shinobi." She explains. "Tell me where they are, and I'll think about releasing you."

_So, Himeko and Raika both managed to avoid capture…_

"I don't know." I tell her. "We had a meeting set up for 1 hour after we parted, but I don't know how long I've been unconscious, I can't tell you where they are."

"You've been unconscious for a single day." She explains. "Where would your comrades have gone?"

I shrug.

"I'd assume that they'd steal some local clothes, and then try to blend in and search for our primary target."

"Which would be Daisuke Egawa, correct?"

I nod.

"Why are you searching for him?" She asks. "He has made no move against the Village Hidden in the Leaves, so what purpose could you have for wanting him dead?"

I shake my head.

"That ninja is one of the only missing ninja capable of performing an ocular transplant."

"An ocular transplant…" She asks.

I nod.

"One of my old teammates kidnapped a 6 year old child from the Hyuga clan of Konoha, and she plans on having his eyes transferred to her, and her eyes placed in him."

She scoffs.

"So, why do you care?" She asks. "What concern is it of yours?"

"The child is Himeko's cousin, and Himeko is important to me, and I want to help her whenever I can."

I feel a rumble through the stone, and I can hear an explosion nearby, and I can hear Mizu's feet shift against the stone.

"What's going on?" She demands, and I hear a footsteps pounding against the stone, getting closer.

"We're under attack, unknown number of assailants." The ninja says.

I can almost feel Mizu's eyes on me.

"Is this your doing?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"Himeko and Raika wouldn't attack your village to try and rescue me, they know better then that." I explain. "This attack has nothing to do with Akatsuki or any of its members." I explain.

"Order all ninja to defensive positions." Mizu orders calmly and coolly. "I'll be heading out as soon as possible." She explains.

The ninja mutters an agreement, and then takes off, his footsteps running down the stone. I can feel her eyes on me.

"Whatever you do, stay in this cell." She explains. "I don't need the trouble of you running around loose."

"So, you're saying you know I can get free from these shackles?"

She nods.

"I'm more then well aware that you can get out, and the fact that you haven't already only proves to me that you're not really responsible for this attack, and you're trying to start a friendship with this village."

She takes off, and I hear multiple sets of footsteps running down the hall, and as the air gets calm, I don't hear or smell anyone else nearby, and I grin, making a simple hand sign with 1 hand, releasing the chakra restraints on my hands and arms. I pull against the shackles with all my strength, and I feel the metal cuffs break and shatter, freeing my hand. With my hands free, I reach up and take the blindfold from my eyes, returning my eyesight to me. I look around, and I see there are metal steel bars sticking out of a stone ceiling, and I figure that I'm actually in a stone walled dungeon, like something out of an old story…

"Figures…" I mutter.

I look the bars over, and with my Sharingan I can see that the construction could easily be broken, all I have to do is apply enough force…

I approach the bars, stopping with 2 feet between my body and the bars, and I raise my foot, sending it forward into the bars, and I kick with all my strength, sending chakra out from the points on my feet to increase the force behind the kick, and I feel my foot hit the bars, and then I hear and see the bars bend at the points where they meet the wall, and the bars snap out of their places, the bars flying to the opposite side of the short hallway…

_Okay, now to get out there and see about helping out…_

I take off down the hall, and I follow the sounds of combat toward the outside, and after a flight and a half of steps I find myself emerging out the main entrance to the building. I stop after a take a few steps outside, and I look around, seeing ninja are fighting each other everywhere, and I don't recognize any of the aggressors.

I see ninja wearing the hidden mist headband, and I can only assume that those are the ninja defending the village, and before I move to someone's assistance, I see movement from a nearby building out of the corner of my eye, and I leap up, seeing kunai fly from the top of the building and landing on the ground, the kunai's owner obviously trying to take me out without even really getting involved…

I throw my own knives toward the ninja who tried to kill me, and I see the ninja leap from the building and come toward me, making hand signs, and using my Sharingan, I copy the signs perfectly…

"Water Release: Water Shark Missile!" We both shout.

We draw on nearby water, and both of us use the techniques at the same time, and both jutsu cancel each other out as the two of us land on top of a building together, and he glares at me.

"Who are you?" He asks. "You aren't from this village."

I nod.

"I'm just a traveler, and I'm only helping out with the defense of this village."

He scoffs.

"Go to hell!" He yells as he makes hand signs.

He makes the last one, and holds it, and in that moment, my hands move in a blur…

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!" We both shout.

Our jutsu form two large balls of water, and then they slam into each other, and like the jutsu before it, both techniques push against each other with equal force, and both stop the other, causing both to merely fizzle out before us…

"What the hell are you doing?" We both say in unison, my Sharingan allowing me to mimic him exactly. "Stop that!" He tells me, and I know I've got him.

_Now all I have to do is plant a suggestion, and this is over…_

"I've had enough!" We both say, and he starts making signs with his hands, and I copy them perfectly. "I'm going to-" He cuts off, staring at me, and I stop making hand signs.

His eyes tell the whole story, and I know that I've got him exactly where I want him.

"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!" I yell as I make the last sign, and he opens his eyes wide, as that was the jutsu he was going to use.

The water spikes pop up around the ninja, and close on him quickly, crushing his body and organs, and killing him in a moment. I stand there for a moment, and then I lower my arms, looking at the mixture of blood and water and human body parts in front of me, and then I turn away, looking for my next opponent, when I see something catch my eye…

Mizu stands atop the building that I was being held prisoner in, what I can only assume is the main ninja headquarters for the village. I see her, and it appears as though she's embroiled in a fight against someone. I head toward the roof, moving quickly to the railing, and when I land there, I see Mizu, with water surrounding her, fighting against an older man who is easily in his late 30s, if not older.

He wears a white robe with dark black pants, and a long straight chokuto at his back, his hair short and dark. The chokuto sword is sheathed, and his pants have a white rope wrapped around his waist, holding them up. He stands with his hands extended, and water flies at him, and I see electricity crackle across his hands, and then fly forward, hitting Mizu's water and sending lightning back through it. Mizu leaps away and separates the water channel, cutting off the liquid channel at the last second. She lands on her feet as the bulk of the water follows her, and I see the man charge for her, his hands making hand signs in a blur, and then holding his left arm down, I see lightning appear on his hand as he charges, and he drives it forward with such speed…

_That technique, he'll kill her!_

My hands come together, moving as fast as I can.

"Water Release: Water Wall!" I yell, holding the last sign.

I focus the chakra in front of Mizu, and using the water in the air, the water forms a wall just in front of Mizu, the man's fist hitting the wall and causing a blast of lightning and shorting the jutsu out, the electricity flashing to the ground, somehow not hitting Mizu…

"Hmm?" I hear the older man ask as he glances toward me, and I see Mizu look toward me.

"You…" Mizu mutters and I see the older man leap back, putting distance between himself and the Mizukage.

The older man turns toward me, showing me his face, and what I see nearly makes me fall off of the railing…

The Sharingan resides in the dark haired man's eyes.

_That's impossible!_

I see Mizu look back and fourth, and her eyes come to rest on the older man, as he looks at me.

"Hello, Tsuzaku." He says simply, and my eyes go wide in awe.

"Who are you?" I manage to ask.

"I'm your father." He says simply. "Isn't our Sharingan proof of our relationship?"

I shake my head, hopping down onto the roof of the building, and slowly walking toward Mizu.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm an orphan." I tell him. "I have no parents." I admit, standing near the Mizukage.

He looks at Mizu and me.

"But you do." He tells me. "I am your father, your true father." He continues. "It is my blood that flows in your veins and gives you the Sharingan."

I shake my head again.

"No, I don't know you." I tell him, glaring at him.

I extend both hands, and I focus chakra into both hands, and I swirl my hands around, forming a sphere with my hands as I form the ball of chakra, using my Sharingan to copy the ninjutsu used by the Sixth Hokage during our brief fight.

I see the older man raise his eyebrows, and I can tell that he recognizes the Jutsu…

I manage to form a stable sphere, and I funnel my chakra into the sphere, and I manage to keep it stable in my hand, at the limits of my ability to control chakra.

"The Rasengan?" The older man asks.

I glare at him, and then I charge forward, running with my full speed as I hold the ball in my right hand, and then I thrust the ball forward, the sphere colliding with him and then driving him backward a foot, and then the ball explodes, creating a loud noise and covering the area he was standing in dust and smoke…

I stand there, my arm extended, and I feel a blade press against the front of my neck, and I can feel the man's presence behind me.

"You managed to copy his Rasengan, huh?" He asks in a sarcastic tone. "You've developed your Sharingan surprisingly fast, and become quite strong."

"Get away from him!" I hear Mizu demand, and I feel the blade twitch.

"Move that water one inch, and I'll take his neck." He says.

I stand there, my arm still extended, his Sharingan locked on me.

"You claim to be my father, and yet you hold a sword to my throat, and threaten my life?"

"I'm only doing this because you don't understand who I am." He tells me. "I am your father, and I abandoned you for a reason."

"What reason could you possibly have to abandon your own child?" Mizu asks before I can even form the words. "No matter what you may share, anyone who abandons their own child isn't human!"

"Don't speak to me in such a manner, you whore." He speaks to Mizu. "This is a matter of father and son; you have no place in it."

I smirk.

"Father and son…" I repeat him, and he mutters something…

"What?" He asks.

A kunai presses against his neck, and my shadow clone stands behind him, holding the kunai at his chest.

"It's over." I say. "Lower the sword or we're both dead."

His blade leaves my throat, and I step away, turning around and facing him, my shadow clone standing behind him. I see Mizu out of the corner of my eye, and I can see her eyes show awe in them, like she can't believe what she's seeing.

Perhaps, the older man who claims to be my father can see that in my Sharingan.

"You used that girl's outburst, and the moment it drew my attention to create a shadow clone, and then after that, it was an easy matter for you to sneak it up behind me, no doubt giving the clone enough chakra to use a body flicker to sneak up at the last second."

I grin.

"Your powers of observation are quite impressive, although if you are who you claim you are, why didn't you see my actions the moment I did them, if you are in fact another bearer of the Sharingan?"

He smirks.

"Maybe I've only been testing you." He says, and I see a bolt of lightning leap from his shoulders, and land squarely in the shadow clone's face, causing the clone to disappear in a puff of smoke.

"That's an impressive ability." I tell him, and he smiles.

"For an Uchiha, such skill is only to be expected." He tells me.

"And what about me…" I begin. "Did I pass this test of yours?"

He nods.

"You've grown quite strong." He tells me. "You truly are my son."

I shake my head, clenching my fists.

"Stop saying that…" I begin. "Don't call me that…"

"What?" He asks, raising his eyebrows. "You are my son."

I shake my head, like a child who doesn't want to eat, and is being force fed by his parents.

"I said, DON'T CALL ME THAT!" I yell, forming hand signs with my hands, stopping with my left hand on my right wrist, my right hand open and pointed toward the sky, my fingertips coiled.

"What?" I hear him ask.

Fire chakra swirls in my right hand, and I close my hand, the flame forming a ball in my hand, smaller then the Rasengan, the chakra not nearly as heavily packed. I charge forward at my full speed, moving like a blur, and I drive my right fist into his chest.

"Ethereal Flame Fist Jutsu…" I yell, feeling my hand land square, and then I see his body fly backward, and he flips back, righting himself and landing on his feet, looking like the attack didn't even faze him.

"So, a fire based variant of the Chidori." He says. "I take it someone showed you that jutsu?"

I shake my head.

"No, I developed that technique on the spot during the exams, I needed it, and so I developed it." I explain. "It's a simple application of fire chakra to a jab, not much more."

He grins.

"Regardless, your ability to use fire chakra so well is only further testament to your status as an Uchiha, as my son." He explains.

I feel anger begin to build in me again, and I clench my fists.

"I'm not your son…" I tell him. "DO YOU HEAR ME?"

I feel my heart beat, and then, it's like a vice clasps at my heart. I feel like I'm having a heart attack, and I grab at my chest, going to one knee because of the pain.

"Hmmm?" I hear him ask.

I stand up, only it isn't me at the wheel.

"Hello, little one…" I say my voice like a sinister serpent.

He grins.

"Hello…" He responds, his tone showing recognition of the demon inside me.

It's like I'm not moving my limbs, and I can see that he has a look of recognition in his eyes, and he somehow knows how this thing is inside me…

"It's been a while, little one." I feel my mouth move.

"You don't know how humiliating it's been." I feel the demon say. "You trapped me inside this child, and I've had to endure the endless humiliation of watching him live his life." He tells the man.

"You should consider yourself lucky, I meant to kill you after performing the seal, but since the seal took so much out of me, I wasn't able to finish the job." He explains. "And when I woke up, I decided instead that my son might be able to harness your power, and if he could, he'd become a powerful ally."

"You truly are a monster, little one." He says. "I've been waiting for this moment for so long, and I've thought about how I'm going to kill you for what you've done."

"Then maybe we shouldn't be standing around talking!" He shouts.

He charges, drawing the chokuto into his right hand. I can see electricity flare across the sword as he charges, and I feel my right arm grab a kunai from within my cloak, and I feel him charge fire chakra onto the blade as the older man swings the chokuto, and he raises the kunai, using it to block the blade, and the two chakra clash. He pushes the sword off the knife, and then spins around quickly, sending his elbow into the older man, shooting a burst of chakra through my elbow and shooting a burst of fire from my elbow. The older man leaps back, and lands on his feet, holding the sword as lightning runs throughout his body. He comes after me again, and I feel my body go into a crouch, and then my right leg extends and I spin in a counter clockwise motion, releasing a burst of fire chakra from my leg, making a sort of fan motion, and he leaps up and over to avoid the blast of fire, and lands behind me, and I feel the demon track his movements, and come up from the sweeping motion and throwing a punch with my left fist, releasing another burst of flame from my hand, the older man leaning back and barely dodging the blow as he spins around, holding the sword and using it like a blade of death, trying to slice me in half. I feel my body shift and leap back 4 feet, dodging the sword blade as my feet hit the ground and the older man charges after me, moving so fast that we both appear to be moving like two blurs of motion. He swings with his sword, and I feel my right arm block the chokuto, fire chakra meeting the lightning, and pushing against each other, neither chakra willing to give an inch. The two push against each other like bulls, and I can feel the demon's chakra beginning to weaken, his strength getting weak.

The older man pushes, the demon leaps back, using all my speed to dodge the slash following the bolt of lightning, and he sidesteps left to completely dodge the chasing bolt of electricity. He stands facing the old man, raising my left hand up and holding the kunai in my right…

"You've managed to last longer then I thought I give you credit for that…" He says. "However, this fight ends now!"

He swings his sword and bolt of lightning leaps from the tip of the blade and flies toward me, and I feel the demon unable to move. His chakra so heavily drained by the skirmish. I watch the bolt of lightning come, and the demon is so stubborn that he would rather die in control of my body, and then continue to live on in his current existence...

I see a blur of movement in front of me, and then I see the bolt suddenly cut to the right, and I see Raika standing there, her right arm outstretched at the shoulder, her hand in a flat palm.

_Raika…_

I blink several times, and I feel the demon's control recede. I stand there, and I feel my knees get weak, and I fall to my hands and knees…

Someone appears next to me, and I see Himeko's legs out of the corner of my eye, and I look up to see her standing there, looking down at me.

"Are you all right, Tsuzaku?" She asks.

I nod.

"Yeah…" I mutter.

"I'm getting you out of here." She says, taking my left arm over her shoulder and standing up. "You're in no condition to fight."

"No…" I manage to say loudly enough. "I'm not leaving Raika here with him…"

She looks at Raika, and then at the older man.

"She won't lose…" Himeko tells me, and I look up to see the older man smile.

"So, you've got subordinates, do you my son?" He asks, and I see Raika start for a split second, and then returns to her normal stance. "A member of the Hyuga clan, and a Raiyama, if I'm not mistaken..."

"Raiyama…" Himeko asks, and I nod.

"I think its Raika's last name." I tell her, and I see the older man nod.

"It is her last name." The older man tells me. "It's a little known clan from the Village Hidden in the Clouds." He explains. "They possess an almost kekkei genkai like power." He tells us. "They channel lightning chakra into their babies, so that their bodies grow up with a natural affinity for lightning, and a natural resistance to it. Then, they use a jutsu that focuses lightning chakra within their bodies, and they store it, making them essentially living lightning rods."

"That's pretty good." Raika tells him. "But, what you just said doesn't matter to me." She tells him. "The only thing that matters to me is Lord Tsuzaku."

He grins.

"So, my son is the only thing that matters to you in your life?" He asks. "How pathetic do you have to be to be to be obsessed with my worthless son?"

"Your son is a great man, and you're nothing compared to him."

He grins.

"You might think that now, but what you don't realize is that following him around like you are is only holding you back." He tells her. "If you join me, I'll teach you to become stronger then you can even imagine."

She shakes her head.

"I'm not going to go with you." She tells him. "Lord Tsuzaku is all that matters."

He looks at her, and then to Himeko and I.

"I'm not leaving, not while my son still breathes." He says, tightening his grip on his sword.

"You're bluffing." I tell him, my eyes normal, the Sharingan having left them after I fell. "With that skirmish against me, plus your fight against Mizu, your chakra is drained, and with both Raika and Himeko here, you can't win."

He nods; a smile on his face.

"I've already attained my goals here, so what's the purpose in staying?" He asks.

He leaves in a blur of motion before I can say anything, and Himeko looks at me.

"We need to get you to a hospital." She says, and I don't object, feeling my eyes fall closed from exhausting…

"Yeah…" I mutter, going limp...


	15. Chapter 15

(A/N: Well, I listened to your reviews. And I tried to cut back. I keep the chapters backlogged 2 at a time, and I've been working on another story recently, it's another Naruto fan fiction, a story about Hinata being the Jinchuriki, if you're interested, tell me and I'll post it. Otherwise, keep the reviews coming, and tell me how I'm doing.)

Chapter 15: Choices…

I feel a gentle breeze blow across my right cheek, and I open my eyes to see that I'm a hospital room. I look around in reflex; the window on the wall on my right is open. The morning sunshine shines into the room. I see Raika and Himeko are in the room, Raika sits on the right side of the bed, her head on the bed, asleep and peaceful. I look left to Himeko, and I see her lying on blankets on the floor, and she looks peaceful as well.

I shake my head as I get out of the bed, with my clothes hanging on the rack at the far end of the room. I get dressed rather quickly, leaving the headband for last. As I hold the headband in my right hand, I stare at it, and what it means…

_It's a symbol of the village hidden in the leaves, and of my status as a Shinobi…_

"Tsuzaku…" I hear Himeko ask sleepily.

I turn to see her sitting up on the blankets, her head suffering from a bad case of bed head…

"What is it Himeko?" I ask.

She blinks several times, rubbing her eyes.

"What are you doing up, you were exhausted only yesterday, and now you're supposed to be all right?"

I nod.

"I feel fine, and besides, I don't have time to be feeling exhausted." I tell her. "How long was I out?"

"Just for the night…" She tells me, and I nod.

_4 days left to find that kid…_

"What about Chisato?" I ask. "Did you manage to find her?"

Himeko nods.

"We did, but before we could make a move, those ninja that were following your father came into the village and attacked."

"Do you know what they wanted?" I ask.

I hear footsteps from outside, the door opening, Mizu entering into the room.

"They were after Chisato Shiriyuki and Daisuke Egawa." She tells me as she walks into the room.

I raise my eyebrows.

"How do you know that?"

"Because they took both Daisuke and Chisato with them when they left, and I'd assume that they went willingly, because the trackers that pursued them lost them shortly after they left the village."

"Great…" I mutter.

I shake my head, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Well, now what?" I ask.

"I'd assume we'd follow them, and try to track them down ourselves." Raika says, and I look to see her sitting up.

"That's all we really can do." I say, looking out the window. "I just hope we can find them in time."

"Thinking about your father?" Mizu asks.

I turn to face her, and I can't help but scowl.

"That man is not my father…" I say simply. "He's nothing more then a manipulative and evil monster."

She shrugs.

"Okay…" She tells me.

"I think if we're going to have any luck tracking them down, we should get going." Himeko suggests.

I nod.

"Did you send any tracker ninja after them?" I ask Mizu.

The Mizukage shakes her head no.

"I didn't, I wasn't able to gather the necessary tracker ninja in time before they disappeared." She tells us. "The best I can do is point you in the direction they were last seen, and offer the assistance of myself and several ANBU ninja from the village."

I shake my head.

"You can't afford to offer us any of your ANBU." I tell her. "You need their skills and knowledge to protect your village." I tell her. "This matter has nothing to do with your village anymore, we'll handle it."

Mizu looks at Himeko, and then to Raika, and finally her gaze rests on me.

"You're telling me that I should just sit back and allow 2 S rank criminals to hide in, and then escape from my village, and then not try and do anything about it?"

I nod.

"I'm going to make sure that man pays for what he's done, no matter what."

"All right…" She finally concedes. "I can't force you accept the assistance of the village, although I am going to have agents out looking for those criminals."

I nod again.

"Just don't have them follow us." I tell her. "If we're going to have any luck finding them, it's got to be just the three of us."

"Whatever." Mizu dismisses my comment, I don't pursue the argument.

After we eat and re-supply, the three of us leave the village and start out in the direction Chisato and the other criminals went. As the three of us walk, we move slowly, looking around rather cautiously as we walk through the mist filled forest, I can feel something moving around us.

"We're being watched." I say simply, and three of us stop.

"I've sensed it as well." Himeko says; Raika pulling up her sleeves, revealing two metal forearm guards that cover the top of her arms and the tops of her fists.

"They've been following us for the last 20 minutes…" She mutters.

I smirk as the three of us assume a triangular defense formation, putting our shoulders against each other.

With my Sharingan, I can't see into the mist, but I can tell that Himeko is using her Byakugan…

"They've surrounded us, and we don't stand much chance of us getting out without a fight."

I put my hands together, forming a simple sign.

"We're getting out of here, even if I have to burn a path out." I mutter.

Figures move in the mist, and Himeko speaks up.

"They're coming!"

Several figures leap from the mist, and I move my hands in a blur, grasping a kunai from within my cloak and using it as a weapon to slash at the ninja, and the three of us make short work of the ninja, and when we're done, two figures stand ahead of us.

The mist begins to clear around them, and I see one of them has what looks like a large human sized puppet wrapped in bandages, and the second wears a pair of protectors just like Raika…

They glare at the three of us, and I can see both of them smiling.

The one with a puppet is a 24 year old girl with short dark red hair. Her eyes are a deep red, and her body slender and well taken care of. She wears black robes that cover her entire body save for her head. She doesn't wear a headband, like the other ninja as well. The second is a man around the same age as the girl, with short dark hair and dark eyes. He wears robes that are identical to the girl, and he wears the gauntlets on his arms, the sleeves of his robes cut off, revealing masculine arms.

"So, you're that man's lackeys, are you?"

The girl looks at me, and then at Himeko, and finally at Raika.

"Looks like one of them is a grappler, just like you Kenji..." She says, naming the man.

I see him grin.

"Looks to me like the Boss's son is with them, Mayumi…" He responds, naming the girl. "You aren't looking to try and tangle with him, are you Mayumi?" He continues. "After all, we were told not to kill him, the master wants him ALIVE Mayumi, and you shearing him to shreds isn't a part of us bringing him back alive."

The girl called Mayumi grins, tightening her grip on the puppet next to her, the puppet wrapped in a large amount of what appears to be bandages…

"I know Kenji, but what harm is there in roughing him up a little first?"

I look at the two of them, I can see the man eying up Raika. I can already tell just from the way he stands that they both studied the same form of taijutsu, a form of martial arts that primarily deals with close range hand to hand blows focusing on grabbing maneuvers. The forearm protectors somehow fit into that form of taijutsu, although I've never seen Raika go all out in a fight before, so I can't really explain how it fits…

"Himeko…" I begin, and I can see her start next to me.

"What is it, Tsuzaku?"

"I want you to continue the pursuit, and leave these two to Raika and me."

She turns toward me; I can see the disagreement in her eyes.

"But, you're the one who fought against him before, and you know about the Sharingan more then I do, so it should be you who goes."

I shake my head.

"I already fought him once, and in my current condition I wouldn't fare any better a second time around." I tell her. "You, on the other hand, have a style of taijutsu that he can't copy, and with your Byakugan, you'll have a distinct advantage."

She seems to listen to my reason, takes a quick glance to the two of them, and then looks back at me.

"Just don't do anything stupid, and don't die on me." She says, and I nod.

"I won't." I tell her simply, and with that, she leaves, disappearing in a blur of motion.

I see Mayumi's gaze follow Himeko for a moment, and then her eyes return to me.

"So, you decided to stay here, and fight with me, rather then go and see your dear old dad?" She asks sarcastically.

I grimace, glaring at her with the Sharingan in my eyes.

"That man is NOT my father." I tell her, my expression cold. "Say it again, and I'll rip out your vocal cords."

She grins.

"That's what I like to hear, you've got the same cold angry fire that Master has; this fight will be so much fun!"

She unfurls the bandages, revealing a complicated and dark looking 10 armed humanoid puppet. She has chakra strings going from her hands to the puppet, and I can see a happy smile on her face. I almost think I see writing on the inside of the bandages as they land in a clump around the doll, and I forget about it, my immediate concern on the puppet.

"Perhaps we should go somewhere else, My Pretty?" Kenji asks.

She nods, and the two of them disappear, leaving Mayumi and I alone.

"I'll give you one chance…" I mutter. "You can surrender now, disarm and leave this place, and if I never see you again, then you can live." I tell her. "However…" I begin my eyes and voice becoming cold. "If you insist on fighting me, then I won't hesitate to kill you, without a second thought."

"Shinobi are weapons, killers and murders, you shouldn't have a second thought about killing me, so give me everything you've got, and when you've tried to kill me, then I'll beat you into the ground, and bring you before My Master."

I shake my head.

"I will never be brought before him." I tell her. "I'll kill you, and then I'll kill him for all the trouble he's caused me."

She smiles, putting her hands together. I see her use the Puppet Master Jutsu, chakra strings shooting out from her hands and toward the puppet, locking onto the inanimate object, the thing begins to move as she moves her fingers, manipulating the large doll.

"Die!" She yells.

The arms on the puppet fold at the joints, revealing hidden barrels in the upper arms. Senbon shoot out from the openings, aimed at me. With my speed, I easily dodge the needles, and watch as she charges the puppet toward me.

"Try this!" She yells.

I see its mouth open, and a black ball shoots from it.

_Poison gas bomb…_

I move with all my speed, like a flash as I move away from the bomb and around her in a large half circle, stopping behind her, I pull a kunai from within my robes, and I throw it. I see her eyes spin, her hands moving. The puppet swings around in a tight circle, coming between my knife and her. I watch as the puppet swats the knife in mid air, then one of its ten arms folds back, pointing at me, shooting more Senbon toward me. I shift and move, dodging the Senbon, the girl stares at me, moving her fingers.

The puppet lunges forward. I pull a kunai from my cloak, throwing the knife. I watch as the puppet goes to swipe the kunai, and using my Sharingan's insight, I wait until the last possible second, right before the puppet knocks the knife away, I raise my hand with my pointer and middle fingers extended, activating the exploding tag wrapped around the knife…

BOOM! The knife explodes and sends the puppet flying, creating a cloud of smoke and dust. I move around using my full speed to run and get behind her, pulling another kunai from within my cloak, and I charge for her, trying to cut her throat.

Her puppet swings around and I see it out of the corner of my eye. I leap back at the last second as the puppet tries to impale me on a spike coming out of one of its arms. The stab misses me by inches, and I land on my feet, watching her fingers move as the puppet comes after me. I slide the kunai back into my cloak, and then I put my hands together.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" I shout, expelling flame from my mouth over my fingers.

The fire hits the puppet and blows it back, and then I put my hands together, using my Sharingan's copying and memorization ability to remember a jutsu it witnessed years earlier…

My chakra surrounds my body, and I can feel the genjutsu take effect. The girl watches as I disappear, using my chakra to bend light around my body. I move slowly, keeping my concentration on maintaining my chakra around my body, to keep the concealing effect active. I move behind her; I see her looking around as I stalk her slowly. When I'm fully behind her, I retract my left arm back into my cloak, withdrawing a kunai from it. I leap forward, feeling the concealing effect dissipate as I charge forward. Ready to stab the blade into her neck as she turns around; I see her fingers flick, moving the puppet as her feet remain planted on the ground.

I see the puppet flip as she raises her arms up, and the puppet swings down, opening its mouth and folding its arms back, shooting Senbon and poison gas bombs toward me. I stop in my tracks and I leap back, landing on my feet. I back flip to put even more distance between the gas cloud and myself, not wanting to breathe any of the gas fumes in…

"You're good, but this ends now." She tells me as I stand there.

I watch as her fingers manipulate the puppet, and I see her chakra strings leave the puppet, and then reattach to just the arms, leaving the main body unsupported…

"Puppet Performance: Ten Prongs of the Reaper!"

I watch as the arms disjoint, and leave the body. I watch as she sends the arms toward me, spikes protruding from the jointed side of the arms that connect to the body. I watch as she tries to impale me with them, and I leap back, using my speed to dodge, and my Sharingan to keep track of the arms, until I feel something from below me…

I look down to see two hands emerge from the ground and grab me by the ankles. I look to her and I see that it is indeed still her, and she hasn't used any ninjutsu or genjutsu to disappear or switch with a clone…

"Ha, you must've forgotten that my Kuro has 10 arms, and were lost in dodging only 8, while the other two burrowed into the ground behind me, and moved through the Earth, aided by my chakra to come up from below you and grab you, and now you can't move, helpless before my attack."

_What is it with people like her and my father and gloating? Why do they always have to rub their triumph in their opponent's faces before they finish them off?_

"What's your point?" I ask, trying to buy time. "You honestly think you've got me?"

She nods, moving the other eight arms as they're suspended in mid air.

"You're dead!" She yells, swinging her fingers forward, and the arms follow suit.

I watch as the arms fly toward me, spikes protruding from them as they fly toward me. I watch as the spikes impale their target, and I see her grin in victory…

"You're done." She says. "The spikes on my Kuro's arms are poisoned, you won't last another fifteen minutes."

I smirk.

"Says who?" I ask.

She goes to move the arms, but her target disappears in a puff of smoke, the shadow clone no longer able to hold together under the pressure of the spikes…

"A clone, but when did he make the switch?"

She looks around, and I stick my hand up through the ground, grabbing her by the ankles. I pull her body into the ground, and I pop up as I drag her down, leaving her up to her neck in the Earth. I stand there, and I look down at her.

"Earth Release: Head Hunter's Jutsu." I tell her.

"You bastard!" She yells.

I smirk.

"You've lost; don't bother trying to get out." I tell her. "It'd take you a day just to manage to dig yourself out of that hole."

I see her smile.

"You honestly think you've beaten me?"

I see her smile, and I spin around to see her puppet moving. I curse to myself, remembering that she can still use the puppet, even from underground. I swear in anger as the puppet's arms reattach to its body. Then the puppet itself flies toward me, folding 4 of the arms back at the elbows…

_Not this again…_

The puppet fires Senbon toward me, and I duck and roll, coming up on one knee as the puppet stops and turns around, lunging toward me like a bear eying it's next meal…

I leap back at the last moment as the puppet lands where I was, and I make a simple hand sign with both hands…

"Boom…" I mutter.

The exploding tag I planted on the ground ignites, and a moment later, it explodes. Blowing the puppet up in a cloud of smoke and dust as I land on my feet, the cloud of smoke large enough to conceal the puppet's master as well…

I wait there a moment; then I see a white streak emerge from the cloud, aimed toward me like an arrow's point. I hop up, just high enough to dodge the tip, and then I push off the metal whip like object hard, flipping forward and landing behind the cloud, on the opposite side…

_What the hell was that?_

I turn to look at the cloud as it begins to clear, and I see a large white object, with a humanoid figure standing next to it. The silhouettes are dark, and I can't make out any details yet. As the smoke clears, I see Mayumi standing there, new chakra strings coming from her hands, toward a puppet that wasn't there before, the scattered remains of the one called Kuro scattered about, and I know that she's more then capable of reforming the puppet, given enough time…

"It's too bad you had to force me to unveil this." She says, standing in front of the large, Iguana like puppet.

The thing is all white, and literally looks like a large iguana. It appears to be made of wood, or some other material, with a metal sheet coming from its 'neck' onto it's back. It's 'tail' is like a metal whip, jointed in nearly identical sections of metal, the tip sharp and pointed. The 'tail' itself is easily 15 feet long, and as the puppet sits on its four 'legs,' its master manipulates the controls…

"A white puppet, huh…" I begin, thinking back to when she unfurled the bandages. "Let me guess, you used a summoning jutsu to store that puppet with those bandages, which are actually the thinly shredded sections of a scroll."

She nods.

"Since you destroyed my Kuro, I have no choice but to murder you with my Shiro and his pretty tail, just for the trouble you've caused me in rebuilding my puppet."

I growl under my breath.

_This fight is getting pointless. If this keeps up, Himeko will be unaided against that man for too long, and he'll get the advantage on her, and probably kill her. I don't have any choice then, as much as I don't want to, I'll have to use the Mangekyo…_

"What's the matter?" She asks. "Are you too afraid to move, now that you've seen my unbeatable puppet?"

I do a quick analysis of the weapon, and I realize that her statement is probably fact. With the large metal plate, which no doubt folds and expands, she has a defensive wall capable of blocking anything but the strongest techniques. With that tail, she can keep the opponent out of striking range, forcing them to relying on ninjutsu or tools to try and strike her…

_However, as strong as her puppet is, she is still only human…_

I close my eyes, activating the power within the Sharingan, calling the heightened form of the eye into my eyes…

"What's wrong, praying?" She asks.

I open my eyes, and I look straight into hers…

"Tsukuyomi…" I say simply, using the genjutsu…

In the moment our eyes lock, the genjutsu takes hold…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The world seems to swirl, everything turning black and white, save the red sky and matching moon. Mayumi stands before me, in the middle of a large, antiquated room, with chains binding her arms and legs. She stands suspended in mid air, held by the chains 2 feet in the air. I stand before her, looking up at her as she looks around.

"What is this, what are you doing?" She demands, anger in her voice.

"You're a puppet master…" I tell her. "But I wonder; have you ever felt what it's like to be the puppet?" I ask. "To have your arm torn off from your body, your legs ripped clean, your body blown to bits?"

She looks down at me with contempt in her eyes.

"How would I know, it isn't possible-"

I pull on her right arm using the chain, and she screams in agony and pain as I pull harder. As her scream intensifies to a level higher then I can match, her arm tears off at the shoulder. Her continued screaming echoing in the room, blood spurting from the large wound as the limb hangs there, free from her body…

I can tell she's never experienced a pain like that before…

"How about your leg?" I ask, and she looks at me, a sudden fear in her eyes.

"No, please, don't-"

The chain that binds her right leg pulls; the other chains hold her body. Her right leg separates from her torso, giving me another shrill cry of agony and pain. More of her blood spills from the wound, and if this were real, shock would've set in. But this is my world, and she isn't going to wimp out and pass out, missing the torture that she so rightfully deserves.

"You…" She begins, only to feel a pull at her left arm. "NOOOOOO!" She screams in fear.

Her left arm separates, and suddenly her body falls, hanging there by her left leg. Tears run down her face as blood oozes down her body, seeping from her leg wound; dripping from her arms.

She's whimpering now, begging and pleading.

"Stop, please stop this, just kill me, please."

I shake my head.

"Oh no, you aren't going to die." I tell her.

The chains that hold her severed arms move back, as if guided by an invisible force, they place her arms back against her shoulders. The wounds vanish, the limbs reattaching. The chains pull her body up, as if in a crucified position, her leg sliding back into place…

"What is this?" She asks, looking at her whole body.

"This is my world." I tell her. "Here, I control everything, space, time, even your body, everything is under my control." I finish. "And the fun hasn't even begun yet."

After reattaching her limbs, I tear them off again, one by one. After 3 limbs are separated, I reattach them, only to tear them off anew. Her screams were constant; and her pain only worse and worse as she began to numb. By the time three constant days have passed, her shouts of pain have silenced, her eyes blank, her mind having retreated within itself to shut her off from the constant and intense pain…

The world warps, and the genjutsu fades, returning us both to reality.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

When we both return to reality, only a few mere moments have passed, and I turn off the Mangekyo Sharingan. I see Mayumi's body fall face first into the ground, her eyes closed, unconscious from the pain she's experienced. Though her body lacks a physical wound…

"It's to be expected…" I mutter as I walk toward her, pulling a kunai from my cloak into my left hand. "To be put through that torture, and then remain conscious is something someone of her level just can't do." I say, standing over her.

I raise the knife and hold it over my head, ready to plunge the weapon down into her skull, when I hesitate, looking at her lying there, completely defenseless and unconscious, probably not even fully aware of what happened to her.

_To kill her like this would be cowardly and without honor. Though the ninja way lacks mercy, this girl is of no threat to me, even without the Mangekyo Sharingan, I could've killed her, even with her new puppet…_

My eyes travel to the white Iguana like puppet, and I can see the chakra strings have vanished, she is indeed beaten.

I slide my left hand back into my cloak and I turn around as I sheath the kunai, starting to walk away, when I hear a light groan.

I turn around to see her body begin to move, and I watch as she struggles to bring her head up…

"Wait…" She manages to whisper, her voice nearly hoarse. "I have to tell you something."

"And what's that?" I ask.

_It's amazing that she's even awake, this quickly after receiving the Tsukuyomi, but still, she's in no condition to move, much less try and fight. Her mind is broken, she's mentally unable to focus her chakra, much less send a mental command to move her body…_

"That girl, Chisato…" She begins weakly. "She's already had the transplant."

The words echo in my ears.

"What?" I demand. "When did she have it done?"

"Yesterday, after we escaped from the village, the boss ordered it done immediately." She tells me. "Both of them made it through the operation without a scratch, but she was no condition to move on her own, so that Medic is taking her to another one of the bosses' bases somewhere."

"Where's the child she stole the eyes from?" I ask.

"Up ahead." She tells me. "He's in a cave, near where the boss is probably fighting your friend." She explains. "Within the cave, there are exploding tags everywhere, with him at the rear." She continues. "The tags will explode if he's moved, and any tampering will set them all off as well."

I curse to myself, swearing vulgarly under my breath.

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask. "What's in it for you?"

"I'm just following orders…" She says weakly, her strength mostly gone. "The boss said that you would probably stay behind to fight us if we went to meet you, and send another of your group to meet him instead, and if you beat me, I'm supposed to tell you all this."

"So, he's setting some sort of trap?"

"I don't know…" She tells me. "I only know that child is in the cave, and he could be killed at any moment."

I swear again. Then I look away from her, toward where Himeko went.

"If I see you again, the next session of torture will be 20 times worse then what you just experienced." I tell her.

I take off into a run, moving like a blur of motion after Himeko…

_Hold on Himeko, I'm coming…_

I move with all available speed, following not only her scent, but the sounds of combat that I've been hearing. As I run, my thoughts drift to Raika and her combat with the one called Kenji…

_I'm sure Raika won't lose. With her powers and skill, even I would have a hard time fighting her. She's as formidable as any Shinobi I've ever seen, and has the potential to become stronger then I am. The only problem is; she won't leave my side to pursue developing her own strength…_

I can see the mist thinning ahead, and two figures stand in it, staring at each other. I emerge through the mist, and I can see Himeko, facing down the man who claims to be my father, his fully matured Sharingan resting in his eyes…

"Ah, another player arrives." The man says, and Himeko doesn't shift her gaze.

"What do you want?" I ask the man. "What's your purpose?"

"I need to rebuild my clan, and in order to do that, I need strong heirs and strong subordinates." He explains. "That girl, Chisato will make an excellent subordinate once I teach her the Gentle Fist."

_What?_

"You don't know the Gentle Fist." Himeko says. "No one will teach it to you!"

My eyes go wide in recognition.

"It would seem my son understands…" He says.

"Tsuzaku?" Himeko asks.

"Himeko, has he been fighting you with his Sharingan active?" I ask, and she nods.

_Great, she's inadvertently helped him…_

"Do you understand now, or do I need to explain it to our little Hyuga friend there?"

"I understand…" I tell him. "You're going to tell Chisato everything you've learned about the Gentle Fist through your Sharingan, and you're going to teach her the attack steps and motions, along with the signs for activating the Byakugan, and everything else you've witnessed Himeko do." I say simply, and he nods.

"I'm sure Chisato will be delighted to learn the Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin, along with the Eight Trigrams 64 Palms that you've used against me."

I glance toward Himeko, and then back to him.

"If she hit that attack, then you're paralyzed, your chakra is sealed within your body."

He smirks, and I see Himeko shake her head.

"He made Shadow clones." She explains. "A lot of them, and he made it impossible for me to tell them apart, and I thought that the one that wasn't attacking me was the real one, so I used that secret technique on it, and it was a shadow clone…" She says, her voice showing humiliation.

"Care to try that crap on me?" I ask, raising my right hand in the form of a palm, assuming a neutral strong fist stance.

He grins.

"No, I don't think so." He says, knowing full well I'd see through that same trick, no matter how many clones he made. "In fact, I think I'll start the countdown."

He raises one hand, his pointer and middle fingers extended, and I see him exert some chakra…

_Oh no…_

"You've got 5 minutes to rescue that boy." He says, pointing with his left arm toward a cave in the distance. "He's in there, and you'll only rescue him if you both work together."

Himeko looks at me, and I back at her, and I realize that as much as I'd like to use the Mangekyo Sharingan on this man, and enjoy torturing him, I don't have either the chakra or the time to do so…

"Let's go." I say, and we both take off, as the older man watches us go for a moment, and then disappears.

"We let him get away." Himeko says, and I nod.

"We'll have to deal with it." I say simply. "Our goal has always been to rescue the child, and from what that girl Mayumi told me, you're going to have disarm some exploding tags before we can."

She nods, the two of us charging into the cave.

The cave is dank, wet, and smells of moisture and decay. We make our way quickly, using a fire I create in my right hand of chakra to light our way. When we come to the back, what I see scares me…

The child, Hizashi Hyuga, is strapped to the back wall of the cave, with trip wires around his body. Exploding tags are all around him, no doubt there are more tags placed around the wall, ready to bring the cave down. I can see the fuses on the tags already burning, cursing to myself…

"We've got just over four minutes…" I mutter.

I can see Himeko using her Byakugan, and I glance to her.

"Think you can cut the cords with your Gentle Fist attacks?" I ask.

She nods.

"I think I can get us out of this, but it's going to require that we move fast."

"What's your plan?" I ask.

She speaks quickly.

"I can perform a Heavenly Spin, an attack that will cut through the cords and the cave walls, and it should free him from his binds, and also protect us for a few seconds from the explosion."

"And that's where speed comes in…" I mutter, cursing to myself.

"Do you think you can move fast enough to outrun an explosion with Hizashi and I in tow?"

I nod, remembering that there is one jutsu that I can use, though I doubt that I'll have much chakra left afterward.

Turning off my Sharingan, I look at her.

"Give me a countdown, okay?" I ask, and she nods, assuming the stance as I stand near her and the child.

I cross my hands into a set of hand signs as she starts the countdown.

"3, 2, 1… NOW!"

She goes into a large spin, releasing a massive amount of chakra through her body, using the chakra to slice through the cords in the area. Freeing the child as I make the last sign, catching the unconscious child and slinging him onto my shoulder, with the various exploding tags go off all at once. The tags surround the chakra dome in fire and heat, the sound deafening as I grab Himeko's arm, and I focus…

"Flying Thunder God Jutsu!" I shout, focusing most of what's left of my chakra.

There's a loud POP that resonates in my ears, and in a split second, the three of us are standing in the mist outside the cave, with Raika standing nearby.

"Lord Tsuzaku, Lady Himeko…" She says, turning toward me.

The two of us stand there, and Hizashi lays on my shoulders, still unconscious, even after all the excitement and noise, the boy has not moved. I stand with my legs spread, my breath shallow, feeling my exhausted supply of chakra taking its toll on my body…

_I burned so much chakra, not only did I use the Tsukuyomi but I also used that Flying Thunder God teleportation technique, and if it hadn't been for Raika holding onto that kunai I gave her, I doubt I'd have had the chakra to get us anywhere…_

"Lord Tsuzaku, are you hurt?" Raika asks me, and I shake my head.

"I'm fine, I just feel exhausted." I tell her, removing the boy from my right shoulder and laying him on the ground gently. "Raika, can you examine this child, and tell me if there's anything wrong?"

She nods her agreement, kneeling down next to boy. She examines the boy like an average soldier would examine an injured combatant before calling for a medic. As she finishes looking over his body, she looks up at his head, and to the bandages that surround his eyes, evidence that they didn't mean to harm the boy or cause him to be blind because of Chisato's ambition. Raika reaches for the bandages, and Himeko grabs her hand, shaking her head as she looks on with the Byakugan…

"I can already tell he's undergone the surgery." She tells us. "You should leave the bandages alone until we get back to the village."

Raika looks at me, as if questioning Himeko's judgment, and I nod my agreement with her.

"You're right." I say, still feeling winded. "We need to head back to the village Hidden in the Mist, and try to send a messenger from there."

Himeko picks the child up, and she places him gently over her left shoulder, and she turns toward the Village Hidden in the Mist, back the way we came.

"We need to hurry." She says. "We don't have much time left before our week is up, and the Village Hidden in the Leaves is going to deem us all criminals."

The three of us start back toward the village, moving as fast as our weary bodies will allow us. We move nearly non stop, the toll of our respective battles showing in our movements. We all run like we're exhausted, and each of us is running low on chakra…

"Raika…" I begin as I look over my right shoulder, the girl running behind me.

"Yes, Lord Tsuzaku?" She asks.

"I know it's none of my concern, but did you kill Kenji?" I ask.

She shakes her head.

"No, although I doubt he'll be coming after us in the short term, what about you, Lord Tsuzaku, did you kill that Mayumi girl?"

I look forward, shaking my head.

"No, I didn't kill her, although I did have to use the Tsukuyomi on her…" I begin. "Even though she endured the torture, afterward she was still conscious."

Even though I did use the Tsukuyomi, breaking the vow I made before we left the Akatsuki outpost, unlike the last time I used the genjutsu, I took no pleasure or happiness from inflicting the mental torture on the girl. I only used the jutsu to end the fight between us, because time was short, despite of the large amount of chakra the genjutsu requires of the user…

"So, you used that horrible power…" Himeko mutters and I nod.

"Though, I took no pleasure in it." I tell her. "I used the jutsu only because time was short, and I couldn't afford to waste time in a prolonged fight against her while Hizashi wasted away against the cave wall, bombs ready to explode any second…"

She nods.

"I guess it's all right." She says. "Though your desire to rescue Hizashi is admirable, that you would do whatever you had to save a child."

I only respond with nod.

It takes nearly an hour for the three of us to return to the Village Hidden in the Mist, and when we manage to explain the situation to the Mizukage, she informs us that a caravan is leaving for the Village Hidden in the Leaves the next day. We can hitch a ride on that if we desired. The three of us gratefully accepted, the Mizukage putting us up in a small hotel suite within the village, there for tourists and travelers of importance…

"Nice to see we get the royal treatment." I mutter as we enter the room.

The room itself is nearly bare, with only a single twin sized bed and a small desk for furniture. The lighting in the room is supplied by an overhead light, and the room itself has a bathroom that's attached to it. I walk inside with Himeko and Raika behind me, the three of us wearing our Akatsuki cloaks…

"Well, I think we're all exhausted, and we could all use some sleep…" I mutter.

I turn around to see Himeko standing near the door.

"I'm going to go back to the hospital." She tells me. "I feel bad leaving Hizashi all alone."

I nod.

"I understand Himeko; go ahead, we'll be leaving with the convoy tomorrow morning at 8 am, so just make sure that you're there."

She nods once, and then leaves the room, closing the door behind her, leaving Raika and I to ourselves…

The two of us stand there, and I look at the girl, thinking about how we first met, the hungry and angry girl, little more then a beast…

"Lord Tsuzaku?" She asks, and startles me from my thoughts.

"Sorry, I was just remembering about how we first met, about after you tried to kill me, and I used the Mangekyo Sharingan on you." I tell her.

She nods.

"I remember it well." She tells me.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I locked eyes with her, the illusion of the Tsukuyomi taking hold. The illusion is spun in a moment, and she's chained to the stone wall. She's wearing the same brown cloth, and her wrists and ankles are bound. I stand in front of her, holding a katana in my right hand, light from outside pouring in through the barred window…

"You're going to be in my power for the next 3 days." I tell her, raising the sword up. "I'm going to torture you for these next 3 days…"

She scoffs.

"Nothing you can do to me can compare to my life." She says dryly, looking at me with hollow eyes. "The best you can do is kill me."

The reality in her voice shocks me. I hold the sword, and lower it.

"You can talk…" I mutter.

She nods.

"I don't know where I am, but I've been to hell and back, so there's nothing you can do to me here, nothing can compare to the tortures I've endured these last 8 years."

The statement surprises me, to the point that I'm stunned, standing there in the illusionary world of Tsukuyomi…

She stares at me through the bonds, and I can tell that she doesn't care about the fact that she's about to be tortured, nor does she seem to care that she's bound by chains against a stone wall…

"Do you honestly believe that?" I manage, and her only response is a nod.

"My childhood is nothing, and I've been through worse then anything your mind can come up with, so don't think I'm going to give in to this torture."

In spite of the open challenge, the chains around her wrists open, and the irons binding her ankles pop open, and she falls on her hands and knees. She looks up at me, and then checks her wrists, looking for any signs of damage or injury.

"I can assure you that your hands and feet are fine." I tell her. "Other then minor damage from the chains, you'll be uninjured."

She looks at me, and I can tell there's distrust in them.

"What makes you so sure?"

I smirk, feeling the absolute power of my situation coming to me.

She blinks, and suddenly we're standing the middle of a large grand ballroom, with a brilliant chandelier hanging overhead. The fixture overhead spills brilliant red light all over the grand ballroom, with large ornate pillars holding the 30 foot high ceiling above us. I wear a black tuxedo, and she wears a Victorian style red dress that matches the sky, her hair done up and neatly styled, my hair neatly cut and trimmed, slicked back and styled…

"Shall we dance?" I ask, bowing politely.

She looks down at her clothing, and I can tell that she's completely amazed by it…

"The feel…" She says, touching the soft fabric as I come up from the bow. "These clothes…"

"It all feels real doesn't it?" I ask. "Everything about this genjutsu is real, no matter how much you tell yourself it's an illusion, it still feels real."

She looks at me, and I can tell that she doesn't believe what's happening to her.

"You mean; you're controlling all of this?"

I nod, extending my hand.

"Dance with me, this party is for you, and I would like nothing more then you to enjoy yourself."

She looks like she's overwhelmed, but she takes my hand.

"I don't know how to dance…" She mutters.

"Just follow my lead." I chide her. "Everything will be fine."

The orchestra sitting in the far end of the ballroom begins to play, a beautiful melody lulls into our ears, and we both begin to move with the music, our bodies swaying, her dress swinging back and forth as her feet move on their own…

I can see a smile begin to appear on her face, and as we dance, I can see joy begin to creep into her eyes.

"This…" She mutters, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"You've suffered enough." I whisper in her ear. "Enjoy this time, for the next three days, we'll be together, just the two of us…"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

We spend the entirety of the full 3 days in the illusion, but only a moment passes in the real world. As the illusion fades, she blinks her eyes, and I can tell that she's surprised by what has happened to her. She looks at me, and I can see questions pass behind her eyes.

I close my own eyes, and I deactivate the Mangekyo Sharingan, completely shutting off the kekkei genkai, returning my eyes to normal.

"I apologize." I say simply. "I didn't mean to attack you with that power." I tell her. "Although I'm sure that you've got questions, I can only help with minor answers."

"Who are you?" The question escapes her lips. "What did you do to me?"

I sigh heavily, moving toward a nearby fallen log, sitting down on it and letting another breath out.

"My name is Tsuzaku Sasaki." I tell her. "And as for what I have done to you, I used a genjutsu called Tsukuyomi." I tell her. "It allowed me to create that black and white illusionary world that we both just spent three days in." I explain. "However, only a few moments passed in the real world."

"So, why did you change that world?" She asks. "It started out as a dungeon, and then it warped into that ballroom, and we…"

I nod.

"With my eyes, I could tell that you meant what you said when you'd suffered throughout your childhood." I explain. "Pity consumed me, and I decided to change the illusion."

She looks at me, and I can see a sudden scowl appear in them.

"I don't need your pity." She tells me.

I nod.

"I know, and I didn't mean to insult you." I tell her. "I only wanted to give you a pleasurable experience, that's all." I explain. "So, we can part ways now, you can go about your life, and I can go about mine." I explain.

I stand up to walk away, but I hear her open her mouth.

"Wait…" She says, and when I turn to look at her, and from her expression, I can tell that she didn't mean to say anything, but she did so anyway.

"What is it?" I ask.

"I…" She begins, and I can tell that she's searching for the words. "I don't want you to go."

The words seem to hang in the air for a long moment, and I shake my head.

"I will do no good by being around you." I tell her. "I'm a Konoha ninja, and you appear to be from the Village Hidden in the Clouds, we're rival shinobi from rival villages, we won't get along."

She shakes her head.

"I'm not from the Village Hidden in the Clouds." She explains. "I was born there, but I have no loyalty to that place." She tells me. "The people there didn't care about me, so I don't care about them."

"So, you're basically wandering around?" I ask. "Just living freely?"

She nods.

"Yes, I've been alone for nearly 6 years now, and I've never met anyone like you before." She tells me. "I'd really like it if you'd let me travel with you."

I look her over, and I can tell that she isn't kidding about this whole situation.

"You really mean that, don't you?" I ask, and she nods.

"I've been traveling alone for a while now myself…" I mutter. "I think I'd like to travel with you." I tell her. "I'm in training right now, so don't expect much."

The girl nods, keeping a cold expression.

A thought occurs to me.

"By the way…" I mutter. "What's your name?" I ask. "You never told me."

She looks curious.

"My name…" She asks. "I don't have one."

_No name, huh?_

"That'll make things difficult…" I mutter, a name popping into my head. "How about Raika…" I ask. "With your lightning powers, the name fits."

"Raika…" She mutters approvingly, and she nods. "I like it."

I smile.

"All right then Raika, next we'll need to work on your clothes…"

"After that…" She says. "The two of us began to travel around together, and eventually you made me this cloak and got me these clothes." She tells me.

I nod, sitting on the hotel bed next to the red haired girl.

"Yeah, we did travel around together for 2 years." I tell her. "And then, I returned to Konoha after we went around taking care of several wanted criminals within the Bingo Book, trying to gain open support for our ninja organization, Akatsuki." I explain.

She looks up at the ceiling, and I can see her smiling at the memory.

"These last two years with you have been the best of my entire life." She tells me. "You've shown me a world I couldn't have hoped to know before I met you…" She mutters.

I shake my head.

"You really should try to make other friends." I tell her. "You can't live your life devoted to a single person." I continue. "You hardly know anyone other then Himeko and I, and you really haven't opened up to her or anyone else."

She looks at me with a questioning gaze.

"Why should I open up to her or anyone else?" She asks. "You're the only one I really care about." She tells me.

I sigh heavily, looking down at the floor.

"I'm going to go check on Hizashi." I tell her, standing up. "If you want to come along, I won't stop you."

She shakes her head.

"I'm going to wait here, Lord Tsuzaku." She says. "I'm slightly fatigued from that fight, and the rest will do me good."

I nod.

"Have a good sleep then." I say with a smile.

I turn and start toward the door, opening the door and starting through it, I stop halfway and I turn around, looking toward the girl with a serious expression set on my face.

"Raika, thank you for everything you've done, and for your continued support." I say in earnest. "I wouldn't be where I am today without you."

I see her smile happily, the whole mood of the room suddenly becoming brighter.

"It's no problem, Lord Tsuzaku." She says. "I'm happy to serve you."

I feel a shiver run down my spine, and I just cover it with a smile.

"Good night." I say simply, and I walk through the door, closing it behind me and feeling a shiver run down my spine.

_No matter how many times I hear her say something that, it always manages to send a chill down my spine. I don't really know why she acts the way she does, but I can only hope that eventually she'll somehow open up and tell me what happened to her during her childhood…_

I leave the hotel and I walk through the streets of the village, a light mist hanging heavily as I walk and people walk around like there's no problem, completely used the seemingly eternal mist that hangs over the village, giving the place it's name. As I walk, I see the local residents of the village looking at me, some with a look of scorn, a few with a questioning gaze, and I can hear the murmurs as I walk past…

"What's a Leaf Ninja doing here?" One asks.

"Does he even have permission from the Mizukage?" Another mutters.

"Leaf scum…." Another voice mutters.

I just ignore them as I walk to the hospital, and I stop at the entrance, looking through the glass doors…

_This is a place of healing, a place of rest. How can I even think of coming here? I've caused nothing but death and torment for others, so how can I…_

I see Himeko come into the lobby, and I see her spot me quickly, and she motions for me to come inside, and I let out a long, drawn out breath…

_Well, I'm here; I may as well go through with it…_

I walk toward the doors, and I pull it open, I walking inside shortly afterward.

"So, you came to see him, Tsuzaku…" She mutters, and I can see concern filling her face.

"How is he?" I ask.

She lets out a sigh.

"I don't know…" She mutters. "He's resting, and the doctors say that physically he's fine, for someone who just went through two ocular transplants…"

I shake my head.

"I'm sorry Himeko…" I mutter. "I know I failed you…"

"It isn't your fault…" She cuts me off. "You did everything you could to get him back, even if he still lost his eyes…"

I feel a pang of guilt at the mention of the child losing 'his' eyes…

_Those same eyes now rest in Chisato's head, who right now is who knows where…_

"If I could, I would've traded places with him." I finally manage.

Himeko shakes her head.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but right now, the only thing that matters is getting him back to his father." She finally responds. "He needs the love of his family to help him heal the emotional scars this is going to leave."

I nod my agreement, thinking about the man who claimed to be his father, the man named Neji…

Even now, I feel a shiver run down my spine.

"Yeah, he does need his family…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

3 days later…

"YOU BASTARD!"

I feel my back slam against the stone wall, my body being pressed against it by the man in front of me.

Neji stands in front of me, his hands at my collar, glaring at me with his Byakugan, both Hinata and Himeko stand behind him in the living room of the Hyuga mansion. Himeko has since removed the Akatsuki cloak I gave her after our successful return to the village…

"Neji!" Hinata scolds.

"Shut up!" He nearly screams at her. "This boy allowed my son to be mutilated, and I will not stand for it."

I just lay against the wall, my feet off the floor, and my arms at my sides.

"He didn't allow anything!" Himeko comes to my aid.

"Be quiet Lady Himeko!" He tells her, glaring at me, and I know that he can see her, thanks to his Byakugan.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" He growls toward me.

"I cannot understand your loss…" I finally manage.

He roars in anger as he throws me like a rag doll, tossing me across the room and into a wall. I impact the wall parallel to the floor, and I fall face first, landing on my stomach. I let out a groan as I land, and I hear rapid footsteps approaching me. The steps are not the hurried light steps of someone wanting to help, but the frenzied stomp of anger and hatred, and I know that it's Neji who is coming for me…

I risk a look, and I see him coming for me like a demon, his eyes locked on me…

"DIE!" He yells out in anger, throwing his palm forward, ready to drive it into my and stop my heart…

"TSUZAKU!" I hear Himeko yell a blood curdling scream.

There's a puff of smoke, and suddenly it fills the room. I hear Himeko and Hinata begin to cough, and I see Neji standing in the middle of the smoke, his hand extended, unmoving as he stands there…

The smoke clears, and I stand behind him, holding a kunai to his throat, the Sharingan in my eyes, a cold emotionless expression set on my face.

"It's over." I tell him coldly.

"So, the rumors are true." He tells me. "You bear the kekkei genkai of that accursed clan."

I don't move; my eyes do not change.

"What's your point?" I ask him coldly.

"Your father, is his name Sasuke?"

I shake my head.

"I don't have a father." I say simply.

I hear him smirk.

"Think whatever you want." He tells me. "But you are related to the last of the Uchiha."

I remove the kunai from his neck and turn the Sharingan off, feeling the kekkei genkai retreat from my eyes.

"Did the thought ever occur to you that I don't care?" I ask him coldly, and I walk away from him, sliding my left hand back into my cloak, returning the kunai from where it came.

Both Himeko and Hinata have expressions of relief on their faces, as though they're glad that the situation didn't boil over and escalate, afraid for both parties involved if they ever fought…

"Besides, you've got more important things to think about." I tell the older man, stopping and half turning toward him. "Like your son, who is lying in a hospital bed with bandages over his eyes."

"My son is no business of yours." He responds. "What I do with him is my business alone."

I glance toward Himeko and Hinata.

"It would seem to me that a concerned father would be at his child's side, not trying to kill the person who brought him back to his father."

I see the older man growl, and then scoff.

"I'll deal with you later." He says simply, and walks past me, a cloud of contempt hanging over him.

I stay silent as he walks by, and I don't look at him as he leaves the waiting room of the hospital, leaving me alone with Himeko and Hinata.

"I wish to formally thank you, Tsuzaku Sasaki." Hinata says with a formal tone, bowing her head politely. "My daughter tells me you were essential in the recovery of my nephew, while my cousin my not show it, he appreciates your work as well."

I give the woman a polite nod.

"You are most welcome, Lady Hinata."

At that moment, Raika walks into the room, holding two clear plastic bottles of water, wearing her Akatsuki cloak, as I do.

"Here you go, Lord Tsuzaku." She says kindly, handing me one of the bottles.

_Yeah, I remember now, she went to get me some water just before Neji arrived, and she probably didn't hear him yell at me like that, and didn't hear the scuffle we had, which I guess is a good thing, if she had heard him, I'm sure she'd have tried to kill him for putting his hands on me like that…_

I take the bottle of water from her I take it to my lips, enjoying the taste of the clean liquid. As I drink the water down, nearly drinking half of the water in the bottle, I pull the bottle away from my lips, and wipe the excess on my sleeve.

"Either way…" I begin, looking at the current leader of the Hyuga clan. "I tried everything in my power to try and stop Chisato, but I couldn't stop her before she took your nephew's eyes." I repeat myself. "I will do everything in my power to try and stop her, and put the entirety of Akatsuki's resources into finding and apprehending her."

Hinata shakes her head.

"You don't have to do that." She tells me. "You've already done enough to try and deal with this matter, the village and my family can handle it."

Even though she's telling me not to worry, and that she'll handle it, I can't help but not accept the denial.

"It is Akatsuki's mission to hunt down and kill any rogue ninja; as such we will pursue Chisato Shiriyuki and anyone she associates with." I tell her. "The only exception with her, is that we're going to bring her in alive, so she can return what she's stolen." I tell the clan leader.

Raika nods her agreement.

"I will stay by your side Lord Tsuzaku…" She tells me. "And I want another shot at that gladiator asshole anyway."

I can't help but grin at the girl, and I don't even think about Himeko.

"We'll be leaving now." I tell Hinata. "We're going to continue our mission of searching out and hunting down rogue ninja."

She looks as though she just suddenly remembered something.

"Have you already had your meeting with Lord Hokage?" She asks. "I was under the impression that he put a time limit on your rescue attempt to prove your loyalties."

I shake my head.

"I'm not going to see the Hokage." I tell her. "I already know that seeking the open support of one of the Five Nations is an impossible dream." I tell her. "So, I'm going to do what I can with what I've got, and forget about the Alliance Nations." I explain. "Akatsuki doesn't fall under any of their jurisdictions, since it's a group composed of ninja from nearly every nation."

She looks at me closely, and even without her kekkei genkai activated, I can feel her gaze piercing me.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" She asks. "If you don't gain the support of one of them, then you risk making all the nations your enemies, and if that were to happen, your mission would be much harder to attain."

I nod.

"I know that, and it's more then likely that some villages already want me dead, just because of the kekkei genkai I possess."

"I can't say one way or another on that." She tells me. "Although, I can tell you that the strongest clan within the Leaf Village appreciates your efforts, and the head of the clan wants you to stay." Hinata finishes.

I look her over, and then my eyes shift toward Himeko, finally resting on the floor.

"As much as I'd like to, there isn't anything in this village." I explain. "My powers would be put to better use outside the village, doing Akatsuki missions and tracking down Chisato."

I hear footsteps behind me, and I half turn as a man wearing a long white robe walks around the corner, wearing a white hat with the symbol for fire on the front tip.

_The Hokage…_

"Lord Hokage…" Himeko begins.

I see the blonde haired man grin.

"I wouldn't say there's nothing in this village for you, Tsuzaku…" The Hokage begins. "In fact, there's an S rank mission that I just received."

I raise my eyebrows.

"An S rank mission…" I ask.

He nods.

"Since you left, we've been working on locating the group of rogue ninja, the Yamikage." He tells me. "We've just learned about their movements, and we've located what we believe to be one of their many staging grounds for their eventual war with every nation involved in the Alliance Treaty…" He tells us.

I raise my eyebrows.

"So, where's this staging ground?" I ask.

I see the Hokage give me a grin, a challenge to tell me that it won't be so easy for me to get this new information.

"If you want the location, then you're going to have to accept the mission." He tells me. "Otherwise, I could be giving away valuable information to a possible criminal."

I glance around the room, and then I look at him.

"A mission of that rank would require at least a 3 man team." I tell him. "Are you telling me you're going to recognize Raika as a ninja if I accept?"

The Hokage glances toward the girl, and then shakes his head.

"I have no authority over her, if she even is a ninja from the cloud village." He tells me. "I cannot send her on any assignment, and you will have a three man team."

"Ishikawa then…" I begin, and the Hokage shakes his head.

"Ishikawa Masakazu is busy training a new squad of Genin, since both you and Himeko Hyuga are Chunin; I've got someone else in mind to be your third person."

The Hokage snaps his fingers, and I see a cloud of smoke explode next to him. When the smoke clears, I see a man in his early twenties standing there, with short non-descript features and short dark hair. His eyes are dark, and he wears the uniform of an ANBU squad member, minus the animal mask.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Hebi, the third member of your three man team." He explains, motioning toward the plain looking ninja. "He's an ANBU squad captain, and will be acting as your group leader."

I look the man over again, and his face is set in an emotionless mask, his eyes staring at me, as though I were about to make a move against the Hokage…

"You expect me to listen to him?" I ask, motioning toward him. "He doesn't look like much."

The Sixth gives me a cocky smirk.

"That's why he's your group leader." He tells me. "He doesn't look like something special or unique, he can sneak into enemy meetings or spy on them without them immediately recognizing who he is just by the way he dresses."

Knowing full well that was a shot at the Akatsuki cloak I wear, and I glare at the man, not focusing on the Hokage, but rather on the one called Hebi.

"I wear this cloak as a symbol." I explain. "When rogue ninja see this cloak, I want them to feel fear chill them to their very core." I explain. "I want them to know that I'm coming for them, and I'm not going to hide like some coward."

The Hokage looks me over, and I shift my gaze toward the one called Hebi. I look him over, and then I shift my gaze back to the Hokage.

"You think that makes you brave?" He asks. "Real bravery is standing up to people, and fighting for what you believe in, not just wearing a cloak, and flaunting your bloodline."

I scoff, and then shake my head.

"It doesn't matter." I explain. "You can do what you want with your information, I don't need it."

I walk past the Hokage without another word, and I make my way out of the hospital and outside, Raika being intelligent enough to know that I don't want to be followed. I leave the hospital and I take to the rooftops, moving from building to building, feeling my emotions fuming and boiling as I leap, the physical activity somewhat helping me to alleviate the stress I feel as I jump from building to building, my Akatsuki cloak flapping in the wind as I leap.

_What the hell does he know anyway? I've had no choice but to be brave and be strong, I've had to stand up people since I was kid. How dare he tell me that I'm coward, and insinuate that I flaunt my Sharingan? What the hell does he know?_

Before long, I find myself in the village market. I don't even know why I ended up here, I just sort of traveled, going from building to building until I finally ended up here.

I stand in the middle of the street, standing near a street vendor's shop, looking down at the various trinkets he's selling, trying to think which one might suit Himeko or Raika as I stare at them…

_I've made some money doing the Akatsuki work, many of the rogues we kill have prices on their heads, and I can usually find a subordinate to claim the price and use it to fund the organization. So, now here I stand, trying to think of what kind of gifts I can buy the two people that matter to me most to say I'm sorry for being such a jack ass…_

I sigh heavily, and the shopkeeper, an older man with dark hair a small beard, looks at me and gives me a grin.

"You look like a man who's lost in love." He says.

I raise my eyebrows.

"Why do you say that?" He asks.

"Well, you're looking at my jewelry longingly, as though you want to buy something, but you don't know what, so obviously it can't be for you or your mother, so it must be for a special girl."

"Two of them, actually…" I correct him. "Though, I care about both of them, I only love one of them."

He smiles.

"Well, it sounds to me like you've got something worth keeping." He says, reaching under the counter and producing two small boxes, sliding them across the counter, one at a time. "Give this to the one you care about." He says as he slides the first. "And give this one to the one you love, they'll understand."

I open each box briefly, and I could nearly hug the shop keep when I look at the two pieces of jewelry.

"I couldn't have picked better myself…" I mutter, and I see him grin.

"Go ahead son, they're on the house." He says. "Just treat em both with love and care."

I don't know if he means the jewelry or the girls as I scoop the jewelry up and leap away, nodding my thanks as I take to the air. I move back to hospital, leaping from building to building as I head back to the hospital. When I finally land in front of the hospital, I feel a sudden tension creep into me…

_What if they don't like the jewelry, I would look like an utter asshole if they don't like them…_

I sigh as I walk into the building, and I make my way into the waiting room on the same floor as Himeko's cousin. I go into the waiting room, and I see Raika and Himeko sitting in the room, sitting on two chairs with their backs to the walls. Himeko has a serious look on her face, and Raika appears to be frustrated, but upon seeing me, her expression changes into that of relief and relaxation mixed with happiness at seeing my return. I hold the two boxes out, one in each hand, handing the one for Raika toward her, and the second box toward Himeko.

"I found these in town…" I begin. "And I wanted to apologize for the way I acted…" I begin. "I was acting like a real jerk, and I should've known better."

The both of them take the boxes from me, and I can tell that they're both curious as they open the boxes, and I see both of them smile as they open the boxes and see their respective presents…

Raika opens her first, and I see her eyes gleam at the lightning bolt shaped pendent, encrusted with small blue jewels…

"It's beautiful…" She mutters, staring at it, and then looking at me. "Thank you, Lord Tsuzaku."

I shake my head.

"I'm the one apologizing here…" I respond, and she doesn't seem to care.

Himeko holds the box in front of her, and I can see reluctance in her eyes, as if she doesn't want to open it…

"It isn't a ring, if that's what you're thinking." I tell her. "All it is an apology from me to you."

She opens the box then, and I see her eyes look at the contents…

"Earrings…" She asks, and I nod.

"I didn't really know what to buy for you, but I saw you had your ears pierced, and you never seem to wear any earrings that you like, so I figured those two small amethyst stones would fit you perfectly."

She nods.

"Thank you, Tsuzaku." She finally says, and I shake my head.

"I'm apologizing now…" I remind the two of them. "I was a real idiot, and I should've been more in control of my temper, and I wasn't."

Raika smiles; and Himeko waves her hand dismissively.

"It's understandable…" Raika tells me. "That ignorant man was insulting you, and he just expected you to stand there and take it?"

"I think you did the right thing, Tsuzaku." Himeko tells me. "After you left, Mom and I talked, and she said she was going to talk to the Hokage, to ask him why he was treating you like that, and try to get him to relax."

"Your mother has that sort of influence with the Hokage?" I ask.

She nods.

"He and Mom grew up together, and they were friends when they were 12, so she has some ability to talk to him."

I shake my head.

"Well, either way, I'm going to accept that mission, even if it means following the orders of the Hebi idiot."

"That's nice to hear…" I hear a familiar voice from behind me.

I turn around to see the Hokage step out from hiding, and it's obvious to me that he's heard most of what was said in the room, if not all of it.

"So, you were spying?" I ask, and he looks at me with an emotionless stare.

"I was listening…" He tells me. "I just happened to be coming here to find you, and when I heard you talking, I figured there wouldn't be any harm in waiting and listening."

I shrug.

"Whatever, either way, I'm going to accept the mission to hunt down the Yamikage." I tell him. "So, whenever we're ready to leave, I am."

The Hokage looks Himeko and Raika over.

"You know, I cannot order, or offer a mission to you, Cloud Ninja." He says, looking at Raika.

She nods.

"I am going to accompany and protect Lord Tsuzaku, no matter what."

The Hokage's eyes glance to me, and I can see a questioning gaze in them, as if to ask me 'where did you find this girl' and I avoid directly meeting his gaze, not wanting to even think about answering it.

"Well, if you're going, I can only assume you're going as well, Himeko Hyuga?"

She nods.

"Yes, I am." She says simply.

He grins.

"All right then…" He begins. "This is an S ranked mission of the highest importance; your mission is simple; search and destroy." He tells us. "They are a band of rogue ninja that attempted to attack and destroy the Village." He continues. "Anyone who attempts that deserves nothing less then death."

I nod, and both Himeko and Raika nod their agreements as well, and then, I see a puff of smoke appear behind the Hokage, and I recognize the entrance even before the smoke cloud clears.

"If we're all ready then…" Hebi says as the cloud clears.

The ANBU squad member stands there, his arms crossed, and a smirk on his face.

"Let's go." I say simply.


	16. Chapter 16: A Ninja's Work

(A/N: Well, this is Chapter 16. I've been busy lately, life, the second idea that came into my head, Army of Two, my girlfriend… Anyway, this is chapter 16, I'm in the process of going through both my backlogged chapters (17 and 18) and rewriting what I have of 19. When I finish revising 17 to the point where 'and' and commas don't appear 3 times every paragraph, I'll update, since this one is very much a cliff hanger. As always, reviews are always appreciated and welcome. I take them seriously, as evidenced by the fact that the updates slowed down…)

Chapter 16: A Ninja's Work.

Two hours later, the three of us are in the forests around the village, moving through the trees at an accelerated rate…

_This is exactly like that ANBU squad leader when we went to that village just before I left…_

We leap from tree to tree, and Hebi hasn't spoken much since we left the village. After taking half an hour to gather supplies for the supposed three day journey…

"So, where are our targets hiding?" I ask, and I see the man look over his shoulder at me.

The four of us run in a diamond shaped formation, with Hebi at the front. Raika runs behind him to the right, Himeko behind him to the left, with me directly behind him picking up the rear.

"They've been moving around from place to place." He says. "One of our ninja working under deep cover just recently managed to set up a meeting with some of the higher ups in that organization." He explains. "We're going there to crash the meeting, find out where they're hiding, and then annihilate them."

"That's a good plan." I explain. "My only question is, why not send the ninja who managed to make contact and let the meeting go as planned?"

"Lord Hokage did send the ninja who made contact with the organization." He says.

I raise my eyebrows.

"You mean; you're the operative that's trying to infiltrate that group?"

He nods.

"Yes, I am." He says simply. "The overall plan is you three will watch and wait while I carry out the meeting, and when I give the signal, you three jump the Yamikage ambassador and subdue him, then we interrogate him."

I nod my agreement.

"Sounds simple enough, as long as the Yamikage keep their end of the bargain..."

"They will." He says with confidence filling his voice. "Trust me, they will."

I can only question what he means, but I decide that it's better to leave the reason unsaid. After all, if he's got some secret, he's keeping it for a reason, and he'll reveal it if he needs to, not a moment before…

We keep going, and finally he motions for us to stop. We all do so, coming to a stop on our respective tree branches.

We all stay quiet, having been trained to communicate without making a single sound. Hebi makes several gestures without turning around, and I take the information he's sending in the signs…

_We've got trouble, some sort of Garrison or something up ahead that shouldn't be there. Though, the nearest village is the Leaf Village, so why would there be any ninja this close that isn't supposed to be there…_

I realize what he's implying, following his gaze. I look down at the vine covered bush that doesn't seem quite right. I turn on my Sharingan, and it's like pulling a sheet off of a large box. I can instantly see what's going on, and I curse myself silently for not having turned the kekkei genkai on earlier…

_I might've noticed them earlier if I'd been using my Sharingan, but as it was; only Hebi noticed it, and we're lucky he did, since it doesn't look like they've noticed us._

I can tell that both Himeko and Raika can see it as well. We all move silently and stealthily, hiding against the trunks of the trees we all stand on. I watch as the ninja look along the ground toward the Village. I see Hebi making hand signs, and I recognize the sequence, thanks to my Sharingan…

_Those signs…_

I see him disappear as though he were swept away in the wind. I watch with my Sharingan; the genjutsu concealing him though he leaps down. Landing silently on his feet, the man approaches the bushes. I tense as he gets close, close enough for those ninja to notice a shimmer in the air with his movements…

_It's still impressive though, to have used that genjutsu and been that quick about it. I wonder just what other abilities this ninja has…_

I watch him move around them. In a moment, I know the trap is sprung.

The illusion that was the vine covered bush disappears as the two ninja are caught in Hebi's own illusion. I watch as the two of them yell and scream, trees sprouting up around them and binding their bodies, pinning their arms to their sides, locking their feet into place…

I watch Hebi emerge from the top of the tree, holding a kunai in his right hand…

"It's over now…" He says coldly.

He drives the kunai into the ninja's chest. His comrade looks on in awe with his fellow ninja being slain right in front of him. I watch him groan, pushing against the illusionary tree. Then I see his face shift in understanding, and I see a small trickle of blood leave the side of his mouth…

_He's dispelling the illusion…_

I see him break free and leap forward. He barely misses Hebi's thrown kunai. The ninja takes no time and takes off at a run, thinking only of escape now that there cover has been blown…

I move faster, moving through the trees like a blur of motion, and appearing in front of him using body flicker…

"What?" He demands, stopping in his tracks.

"I'm here…" I whisper from behind him, driving a kunai into his right kidney.

The knife goes completely through. I can feel his insides tense up when the weapon pierces his flesh and then sticks through the other side. The shadow clone in front of him disappears, in a moment both Raika and Himeko appear near me. Raika sweeps his legs with Himeko driving him backward and down with a palm thrust. With my Sharingan, I'm more then capable to seeing and dodging the falling man. I just hop to the side, landing on my feet with a slight bend of my knees.

The man groans in pain when driven to the ground. I can see that Himeko's attack wasn't just a physical one, but an attack using her Gentle Fist style of taijutsu. She struck his chakra network, temporarily disrupting the flow of chakra through his body, preventing him from using any sort of jutsu to escape. There's a thud when he hits the ground. My kunai is even further pushed through his body. Hebi appears, using body flicker to land on the ninja's arms, pinning them under his feet. I see him focus chakra through his feet, using Earth style chakra to pull him toward the ground, making him seem much heavier then he actually is…

"Bastard…" The ninja mutters.

It's only now that I can take the time to examine what he looks like. He's dressed in black pants and a matching long sleeve shirt with a gray vest like many ninja wear. His hair is short and dark, and his eyes are a green color. He stands a little taller then I am, and his face is contorted in pain.

When he finally gets a good look at Hebi, his eyes go wide in recognition.

"YOU…" He shouts, blood spurting from my kunai wound, his face wincing in pain.

"You really shouldn't move." Hebi tells him. "Otherwise, you might just pass out before you can tell us anything we want to know."

The ninja looks around, recognizing me. I can tell from the look in his eyes as he eyes me over.

"So, the leaf village has fallen in with those vigilantes?" He asks, looking at me. "How dare you act like you're all high and mighty when you're allying yourself with murders that don't care about authority?"

Hebi shifts his feet left and right, digging into the man's wrists.

"That doesn't matter to me." He says simply. "All I care about is information, and you're going to give it to me, or I'm going to make you wish you were never born."

He looks up at Hebi, and I see the Yamikage operative smirk.

"Do your worst." He tells Hebi. "Nothing you can do will make me talk, I've been trained to resist torture, and would sooner die then tell you anything about Lord Akira's plans."

I stand there and I watch the ANBU operative interrogate the man. I watch Hebi smile.

"Do you honestly think you can resist me?" He asks. "You don't know how much fun I get in twisting your arms and legs until they rip off, the bone snapping, the flesh tearing, it makes you make such a lovely and high pitched scream…" He says, glaring at the man with a sadistic look on his face.

I watch Hebi pull a kunai from his pouch and hold it up. He examines the blade with his fingers, looking longingly at it.

"And then there's your groin…" He begins. "It's so much fun to watch a man writhe in pain and despair as I slowly slice his testicles off, one by one…" He says.

I feel a chill run down my spine at the thought. Even though the threats aren't even directed at me, I realize what the guy is doing…

_So, this is how an ANBU operative interrogates someone. They don't actually usually ever physically harm the subject. Instead they get inside the person's mind and twist it, making them imagine the pain they're going to experience if they don't talk. They break them without ever really lifting a finger…_

I can only imagine what it's like for the victim of the torture session, the psychotic expression on Hebi's face, combined with the way he's been fondling that knife…

"OKAY, OKAY!" The ninja yells. "I'll tell you anything you want…" He finally says; sweat covering his face, a nervous shudder to his voice.

"That's a good boy…" Hebi says, the insane edge not yet gone from his voice. "Now, tell me, what is Kentarou planning?"

The man shakes his head.

"I honestly don't know…" He says, his voice shuddering in fear. "I've only been with the Yamikage for less then a year, and he hasn't filled me in."

"What were you doing here?"

"We were spying on the Hidden Leaf Village." He says. "Lord Kentarou believed that several operatives from the Village were attempting to infiltrate the organization, and he wanted us here to try and prove that they aren't what they claim to be."

"That's good…" The ANBU operative says. "Now, tell me everything else."

The guy goes on a preverbal rant, spouting off every incident and memory of his time with the Yamikage, and all of it is non consequential garbage. He talks of going to other villages and trying to recruit downtrodden people, saying how the Yamikage is offering them a chance no one else will, and how he's then turned around and set up bombs in those same villages, setting them off to cause as much havoc and chaos as possible…

"That's enough…" Hebi says.

The next thing I know, I hear a wet noise, and I see a kunai stabbed into the Yamikage ninja's forehead. Hebi steps off of his arms and then turns away from the dead ninja.

"Let's go." He says. "The birds will take care of the body, and we have a meeting to get to, I've wasted enough time here."

I feel a newfound respect for the man as he takes to the trees, and Raika, Himeko, and myself all follow without another word, bearing witness to the torture session has obviously effected us all, though I can tell that they both like myself have a newfound respect for our squad leader that wasn't there before…

We move in silence, the four of us jumping from tree to tree, and after nearly a full day, Hebi goes to the ground, and the four of us follow him.

We land in a circle, the three of us looking toward the ANBU squad member.

"Set up camp here." He says. "The meeting is tomorrow, and we'll depart at first light."

We all nod, and the three of us move about like we're trained professionals, which we all are. We go through the motions, setting up our tents and our provisions, and soon enough, the four of us are set up, and a fire burns with our tents surrounding it in a square shaped pattern…

"We're all set up…" Raika says, and I see Hebi look at the three of us, and he gives a cocky smirk.

"Good, we're all set…" He says. "You all work like fine shinobi." He tells me.

I don't even bother acknowledging his comment, and I sit down on the ground near the fire, staring into the blaze with my natural eyes…

The others all seem to follow my lead, sitting down around the fire, staring into the blaze, and I hear Hebi speak up.

"So, I hear you're the one with the Uchiha kekkei genkai." Hebi says, obviously talking to me.

I glance toward him, and then stare back into the fire. Watching the blaze flicker in front of me, I shake my head.

"You've got it wrong." I say simply. "I just happen to be a somewhat skilled shinobi; I don't have any bloodline limits or anything else like that." I explain. "My strength comes from work and study, much like I imagine yours does as well."

He gives me a curious look. I can see his eyes trying to analyze me from the corner of my eyes…

"So, is that how it is, huh?" He asks. "I've heard stories about the infamous Tsuzaku Sasaki." He says, sounding skeptical.

I just stare into the flames, not wanting to look at him.

"As I'm sure you well know, stories are made up by people, and that means they're usually farther from the truth then rumors." I tell him. "So, don't go thinking anything you've heard about me true, because chances are, it isn't."

He smirks.

"So, I take it the story that Lord Hokage told me about your having a Sharingan, and capable of copying any ninjutsu or genjutsu used against you isn't true?"

I shake my head.

"The Hokage is an old man." I say simply. "And old men can get senile and say things that haven't really happened." I finish.

He looks at me, and then sighs in frustration.

"Whatever…" He says simply. Then he looks at Raika. "You're supposed to be some sort of lightning rod." He explains. "Some sort of living battery."

Raika looks back at him.

"What I am is my own business." She says. "None of yours…"

Then he looks at Himeko. Then she looks away.

"You're Himeko Hyuga, the successor to the infamous Hyuga clan, heir to the Byakugan, and master of the Gentle Fist style of taijutsu."

She nods, the only one of the group to validate what Hebi thinks about us.

As I look him over, I see that he isn't much older then us. I wonder just how old the ANBU member is. What it is that makes him think he's so much better then the three of us? I just shake my though, forgetting the thoughts before I even have a chance to dwell on them.

_This guy can do whatever he wants, and tell me to do whatever he wants me to do, whether or not I do it is always MY choice and no one else's. With the Mangekyo Sharingan, I could beat him without so much as lifting a finger, so he can't use force to try and bring me in line…_

"Yes…" Himeko answers. "I am the successor to the Hyuga main house, heir to the Byakugan, and I have mastered the family's Gentle Fist style."

He nods.

"Good, at least I have one powerful person amongst the three of you." He says, eying me carefully. "Though this mission would've been much easier if Lord Hokage had assigned an ANBU squad, rather then this motley group..."

I get up, walking away without a word. Feeling my own anger boiling inside me at his snide remarks, I just want to get away from him before I hit him. I walk into the forest, and I manage to catch the scent of water on my nose. I follow it to a small pond surrounded by trees. I stop at the edge of the water and I kneel down, picking up a rock in my right hand, I throw it into the pond on its side, watching the semi flat stone skip three times then sink into the ground. The stone leaves ripples at the points where it hit the water, disturbing the otherwise calm water…

"How symbolic…" I hear Himeko's voice from behind me.

I turn and see the girl approach, her eyes on the water, and the fading shimmers of the stone's skips.

"Yeah…" I mutter, looking back at the now calm water.

"I understand why you got up like that." She says, stopping next to me on my left. She looks out at the water. "But I think that you should say something to Hebi, tell him that it's immature of him to talk like that."

I shake my head, sniffing the air. Crickets chirp all around us, not even bothering to notice the two humans who have invaded their space.

"I suppose I should, but now that I think about it, he isn't worth the trouble of talking to, and trying to correct him." I explain. "After all, I'm hiding the fact that I bear the Sharingan, and Raika isn't telling him anything about her abilities, so for all he knows, we're just two worthless Shinobi." I pause. "So why wouldn't he talk down about us?"

Himeko sighs; and I can hear the frustration in her expression.

"Well, I know how strong you are, and I know that he'll be surprised when he sees you fight."

I shrug my shoulders.

"We'll see; we will definitely see…"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The next morning, the four of us are up and moving early. We go into the trees and leap from tree to tree, moving quickly toward a predetermined spot. We move in silence, following the ANBU member's commands without question. Finally he motions for us to stop. He turns toward us, and looks at the three of us.

"You three wait here." He says simply. "I'll motion with my hands in a spreading gesture, and then the three of you jump them." He explains.

The three of us nod. He jumps from the tree branch and lands on the floor of the forest. I see him make a hand sign; then he is surrounded in a cloud of smoke, re emerging in a transformed state…

He now looks like a woman, wearing a blue long sleeved blouse that's white from the shoulders up to the neck. She wears a pair of dark blue pants, and has long blonde hair with blue eyes, and appears to be in her early twenties, with blue eyes like a clear lake…

"Wow…" I mutter, and I can feel Himeko's scowl at my appreciation of the female form.

_That transformed state, it looks too good to be a complete fabrication, maybe it looks like a girl he knows, or is someone he's seen in a town or something._

Hebi walks forward, toward the meeting spot in a small clearing in the forest. I watch as he walks forward in a female form, obviously using it as a disguise of some kind.

In his transformed state, he's wearing a white robe that hangs down to just above his thighs, and the female form he's created is well built, her long locks golden and flowing. She has fair skin, and wears blue ninja sandals on her feet, wearing fishnets on her legs from the bottom of the single piece robe down to her ankles. Around her waist she wears a red sash, the robe wrapped around her neck and the sleeves hanging to mid upper arm. She has a smirk on her face, and appears to be cockily waiting for something…

_No doubt he's acting that way to try and convince them he is a girl waiting to meet them, and is trying to act impatient and rude, the complete opposite of an ANBU member…_

I see him look toward the bushes in front of him, and then he shakes his head in disgust, letting out a sigh.

"Would you two mind coming out of there, if you're supposed to be inspiring trust in me, it doesn't look good if you're watching me from a hiding spot." He says in a perfect woman's voice.

I see the bushes in front of him shuffle, and two figures emerge from the bushes, both of whom are wearing black robes with dark hair and generally non-descript features. They look like two average people who could just as easily blend into a crowd as they could stand out from it…

_I'd imagine that's why they were chosen to be members of the group. They don't want ninja who stand out, regardless of their abilities; they need ninja who can disappear into a crowd after they plant explosives or make a covert strike…_

"Well, your eyes are sharp…" The one farther away says. "However, we didn't come here to test your eyes." He tells us all. "We came here because you claim to have abilities that would be valuable to our Organization." He says. "Show us what you mentioned in your message, or I'll kill you."

There's a long silence, and I watch Hebi carefully, waiting for the signal to strike…

"Fine…" He finally says with the ninjutsu holding and the woman's voice continuing to resonate from his throat.

She makes a common stance for molding chakra, putting her hands together and forming it around her.

"Mokuton: Wood Clone Jutsu!" She yells.

My eyes go wide as I realize what it is I'm seeing…

As if his body had suddenly become a fertile forest, trees begin to spring forth from around him and I watch them form into 3 perfect clones, even though they're made of wood, they appear to be normal looking clones, looking like shadow clones or even illusionary ones…

_Unreal, that's a bloodline limit, similar to the Sharingan in the sense that it's a genetic trait. Unlike the Sharingan, the Mokuton kekkei genkai requires the user to develop chakra control, and allows them to merge Water and Earth chakra inside their bodies and then use it to create living trees. It's said that the first Hokage created the Leaf Village all those years ago thanks to that Kekkei genkai, but how can she have it? That power was supposed to be restricted to just the First Hokage, and wasn't even present in his brother, the Second Hokage. So, how is it that she has it?_

I see the disguise of chakra fold around the trees. They turn into human shaped masses of branches and tree limbs…

"Impressive…" The guy says simply, eying the clones carefully.

"Are we going to stand here talking all day?" He asks, spreading his hands. "Or are we going to do anything?"

_There's the signal!_

The three of us spring into motion. I see Himeko out of the corner of my eye strike one of the two ninja, thrusting her palm into his stomach. At the last moment, I catch a glance of veins around her eyes, indicating her Byakugan is activated. I move for the other ninja, pulling a kunai from within my cloak only to see Raika appear out of a blur, striking him with a fist to the back, a bolt of lightning shooting from her body through her arm and into him. The electrical shock from the attack nearly enough to kill him as he groans in pain from Raika's attack. Then he falls down, his skin browned from the heat, and simmering…

I land with both ninja incapacitated. I look around with my normal eyes, looking at Hebi, and then to Raika and finally Himeko.

"You all okay?" I ask.

Both women nod, and I look back to Hebi.

"So, you chose to transform into a woman to try and fool these idiots?" I ask.

He nods, then walks toward the ninja Himeko struck, grabbing him by the collar. He pulls him up and shaking him violently.

"Wake up you bastard!" He yells using his transformed voice.

I see the ninja open his eyes groggily. Then he looks at Hebi.

"What do you want?" He asks. "It's obvious to me you aren't who you claim you are…"

He looks around; I see his gaze lock on me.

"I know you…" He mutters, raising his right arm and pointing at me. "You're that ninja that's been going around killing Rogue ninja, leaving behind nothing but a corpse, making it impossible for any village to try and uncover the secrets of the body, burning them into nothing but a pile of ash."

Hebi glances at me.

"So, the rumors are true." He says as I nod.

"My name is Tsuzaku Sasaki, and if you don't tell us what we want to know, then you're going to be the next corpse in the long line of Akatsuki's victims." I say simply.

He shakes his head, and I see Hebi shake his collar, pulling the man's attention back to him.

"Where is Akira Kentarou, where is the Yamikage going to stage their assault from?" Hebi demands.

He spits in Hebi's face, and then starts giggling.

"I won't tell you shit." He says. "And I will enjoy watching you die when the Yamikage attacks and conquers your village."

The next thing I know, I see a kunai swipe through his neck like a light breeze, taking the ninja's neck from his body. Blood spurts from the wound when Hebi releases his now decapitated corpse. I watch as the body fall to the ground, looking at Hebi I watch as his transformed face contorts in anger.

"Damn worthless son of a bitch…" He mutters, scoffing.

I hear a rustle of leaves. I look up to see a ninja dressed completely in black, complete with a mask the covers everything except his eyes, holding a sword in his right hand. He comes down to toward me, clutching the sword in his hands. I stare at him, activating the Sharingan in my eyes. I watch the ninja come down, my eyes meeting his…

He slices the sword through me, slicing my body clean in two. My body disappears into a flock of ravens. I see his eyes go wide when he lands on the ground. He looks around, as if trying to find where I'm hiding…

"Right here…" I mutter.

I drive the kunai into his back, directly into his spine at his neck. He lurches once in pain. Then I pull the blade from his back, using a backhand motion to slice his head clear off of his shoulders. I hear the thud with his head hitting the ground and then stop there. Through my Sharingan I can tell that he didn't use any sort of replacement or escape jutsu, he took the full force of my attack and suffered from it, losing his life for the attempt on my life…

"Impressive." I hear Hebi say, now back into his male form.

I turn and look at him, and my eyes go wide at the insight my Sharingan gives me. What I see through the kekkei genkai drastically changes my view of the situation. I watch Hebi look at my Sharingan. I can see him looking at it closely.

"So, that's the infamous Sharingan I've heard so much about?" He asks. "It looks like the Sixth Hokage was right; you are the heir to the Uchiha."

I raise my right hand and I point my right pointer finger.

"Who are you, and what do you want, because whoever you are, you're using a transformation jutsu!" I tell him.

He scoffs, looking around.

"So what…" He asks.

Both Himeko and Raika stand there, waiting for an explanation.

"Whoever you are, you're using a transformation, and my Sharingan can see right through it." I say. "So, I'm only going ask you this once, where's Hebi, and what did you do with him?"

He scoffs.

"I am Hebi, you fool!"

He makes quick hand signs. I can see the water and earth chakra swirl around him, using her kekkei genkai to create trees that spring from his body. He grabs a branch, the bark falling off and the tree and the branch going straight like a quarter staff. He swings it at me like a sword. I can see a sharpened point on the end of the branch. He tries to slice me using the end of the stick. I feel the branch slice into my body. My body disappears into a flock of ravens…

"What?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

Both Raika and Himeko spring into action without a word. Hebi spins around like a vortex, slicing the two of them into shreds. Like me, they disappear into a flock of birds…

"What the hell?" He demands.

The birds flock above him, and then form into me, my torso and arms having formed above him. My hands are together in a typical hand sign for molding chakra…

"You can't kill me…" I tell him. "No matter how hard you try, you can't strike me down."

He throws the stick toward me; my appearance changing into a flock of birds, separating and then flocking around him. The birds peck and claw at him. He swats his arms at them to try and get them away from him. Finally he puts his hands together in a hand sign; a massive amount of trees shoot off of his body and forms a small mass of trees, making an effective barrier to keep the birds away. The birds cluster together, reforming into my form, standing 10 feet away, my arms at my sides.

"So, this is Genjutsu, huh?" He asks, the trees staying firm around him.

"So what if it is?" I ask. "There's no chance of you breaking it."

He smirks.

"You underestimate me!"

I see him clasp his hands together, and I watch as he attempts to disrupt the flow of chakra throughout his body, to try and release the genjutsu and get him out of my illusion. I watch him focus nearly all his will power into stopping the flow of his chakra and break the genjutsu. I see him yell out in anger. I feel the illusion begin to waver…

_Impressive, he's actually managing to shake my illusion's hold on his mind. No matter, what he doesn't realize is that while all this happening, my real body has been doing something else all together…_

"NOW…" He yells out, the genjutsu shattering…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

He opens his eyes to find his hands and legs bound, lying on the ground, with me standing over him, my kunai pressed against his throat…

"What the…" He mutters.

I glare at him with the Sharingan, and I can tell the transformation he's using still hasn't been undone…

"You can't fool anyone anymore with that pathetic disguise, whoever you are." I say simply. "You're bound with ropes that will cut your hands off if you attempt an escape, and one wrong fidget from you and I'll cut your throat…

I can almost read his mind when he looks behind him. I can tell he's thinking about his hands…

"I already told you, there isn't any point to trying to escape." I reiterate. "While you were busy playing in my genjutsu, I captured your real body and bound you, there isn't anything you can do."

He looks around, and he sees both Raika and Himeko standing around us, Himeko with her Byakugan in her eyes, and a cold expression on her face. Hebi's gaze shifts to Raika, a look that could kill resting there.

"What are you two doing?" He asks them. "Why don't you attack him, I'm your leader, how can you just let this blatant insubordination go on?"

Raika shakes her head.

"I'm not part of the Hidden Leaf Village; my loyalty rests with Lord Tsuzaku." She tells the man.

He looks toward Himeko.

"What about you then, why don't you free me?"

Himeko shakes her head.

"My Byakugan shows me that Tsuzaku isn't lying, you're using some sort of transformation jutsu, though I don't know exactly why or for what purpose."

I hear him growl under his breath.

"You're out of options." I say simply. "Tell us who you are and what you're doing here, and I might just spare your life."

He takes a deep breath, and then sighs.

"I am an ANBU member from the Village Hidden in the Leaves under the code name of Hebi." He says. "I was sent by the Sixth Hokage to lead your group in a strike against the Rogue ninja group led by Akira Kentarou." He says. "I used this transformation in case we were followed, I really look like this."

There's a puff of smoke. I can tell that the person hasn't moved, even through the smoke. I can tell that he's still bound and the only thing he did was undo the transformation jutsu he was using to disguise himself…

What appears after the smoke clears forces me to stop and nearly gawk at what I see. If it wasn't for my Sharingan, I wouldn't believe what I'm looking at. However, I know for a fact that what I'm looking at is real…

He is apparently a she, and the form that remains after the undone transformation is that of the woman he spoke as during the meeting with the Yamikage representatives…

"This is my true form." She says calmly and coldly. "Your Sharingan can tell you that much, right?"

I nod, untying the ropes and freeing her. She stands up and rubs her wrists, as if the bonds caused her a great discomfort…

"Thank you." She says simply, and then looks at each of us.

My Sharingan fades from my eyes before I speak.

"Why would you use a transformation jutsu?" I ask. "During the original meeting, I used my Sharingan and saw the person was who they claimed to be, so if you're not that person, then who are you?"

She shakes her head, sighing heavily.

"I am the real Hebi, the man you met was the person I based that transformation off of, a Jounin level ninja who just dressed up in the ANBU uniform and put on an act for you."

"Why deceive us?" Himeko asks; the veins around her eyes subsiding when the Byakugan fades.

"Because we needed to make sure that you followed my orders without fail, and if any of you were working for the Yamikage, and it came out before the meeting, it wouldn't spoil our chances of gaining any information."

"Basically, you didn't trust us, ANY of us?" Raika asks the preverbal rhetorical question.

She nods.

"Two of you are full time members of a group that kills rogue ninja without any authority, and it was believed that the deception would be best just in case any of you were working for the people Chisato Shiriyuki is associating with."

At hearing Chisato's name, I feel a pang of guilt well up in my stomach. The thought of that poor child having to deal with having his natural eyes taken from him all because of Chisato's greed and lust for power…

_I failed to stop her once, but I won't fail again. Even if it means using the Mangekyo Sharingan and going blind, I will stop Chisato, no matter what…_

"None of us would dare associate with that woman or anyone else like her." Himeko defends us. "That woman stole my cousin's eyes, and the people she's with nearly killed all of us more then once, how can you think that we would ever deal with them?"

Hebi shrugs.

"We couldn't be absolutely sure, since you all haven't spent much time within the village, we don't know how you may have been compromised."

"Whatever…" I begin, dismissing the conversation. "What matters is how do you have the Mokuton?" I ask, pointing a finger at her. "That power was exclusive to the first Hokage, and even his brother, the Second Hokage, didn't have it, so how is it so that you're capable of using it?"

I see her smirk, as if happy that I'm asking her a question.

"Something your Sharingan can't show you, huh?" She asks. "To be honest, my father was an ANBU member who had been experimented on by a deranged madman, and because of those experiments he could use the Mokuton." She explains. "After I was born, he taught me all about it, and I found that I possessed the power as well." She finishes.

I raise my eyebrows.

"That's it?" I ask. "You inherited the power from your father, who got it through some illegal experiment?"

She nods.

"I never learned all the details, but at this point, it doesn't matter much." She starts. "We all need to get going, we can follow the trail these idiots made through the forest, and if we're good enough, we'll find the Yamikage staging ground."

I look at her for a moment; then I remember something…

"Why don't we try something a little more guaranteed then that?" I ask. Hebi looks at me sideways.

"What do you suggest?"

I smirk, pulling a kunai from within my robes. I can see caution appear on Hebi's face when I take the knife to my right thumb. I gently slice the skin open.

"Huh…" She mutters when I put the knife away.

I put my hands together. I make a quick sequence of hand signs. After the last sign, I put my right hand on the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu…" I yell out, a red circle appears under my hand.

There's a puff of smoke. I stand up behind it when the small puff of smoke clears. A tiny brown dog sits where my hand just was…

"A ninja dog…" Hebi asks.

"Pakkun!" Himeko yells in surprise.

_So, she must've been around Ishikawa after I left the village, since he's the one who had the contract I signed…_

The ninja dog looks at Himeko, and then looks over his shoulder toward me.

"Oh, it's you…" The little dog says.

Raika looks at the summoned animal then back to me.

"Lord Tsuzaku, since when could you summon a ninja dog?"

"I've had the ability to summon creatures since I left the village." I say. "But, I just don't use them that much."

The dog turns to looks at me.

"What'd you want Tsuzaku, you never summon just me, unless you've got a problem."

I nod; pointing to the two corpses lying on the ground.

"Do you think you can find any residual scents on them that may lead us to where they came from?"

The dog looks at me; then walks over toward the two bodies. I see his noise twitch as he sniffs their bodies.

"It isn't what I do normally…" He says. "But I believe I can lead you for a few miles, although I don't know how much I can do."

I nod.

"That's fine Pakkun, just lead us as far as you can, and we'll do the rest."

The dog nods, looking to the trees.

"Follow me…" He says, and leaps into the trees.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The four of us take to the trees following the ninja dog moving at a slightly slower pace. I can feel the fatigue from using the genjutsu and the summoning on top of each other. Hebi looks fatigued as well when she leaps from tree to tree. Raika appears normal, although I don't know exactly how much chakra she used. Himeko appears to be in the best shape of the four of us, having used so little in her strike against the Yamikage ninja…

_It was unreal, it looked like she barely touched him, and the strike was so precise that I could hardly see any chakra at all, even with my Sharingan. She's become much stronger then she was before, there's no denying it._

"Is something wrong, Tsuzaku?" The Hyuga girl asks. I realize I'm staring at her.

"No, nothing…" I say, looking forward. I see Hebi in the lead, following Pakkun as he leads us using his superior nose.

"The scents are getting stronger." He says. "I'm also picking up a bunch of strange scents that don't belong; I think we may have found wherever it is those guys came from."

I nod.

"Take us there Pakkun."

Hebi follows the dog from tree to tree. The rest of us follow her, keeping formation close and we stay quiet. Knowing now that we're close to whatever enemy stronghold the Yamikage may have set up we're going to need the element of surprise if we're going to be at all successful in our attack on them.

After 10 minutes, the dog stops, the four of us do so as well.

"What's wrong…?" Hebi mutters. The ninja dog turns around.

"The strange scents are just ahead." He says, looking the older woman over. "But I don't think they're going anywhere…"

Hebi lets a light sigh of relief…

"In that case…" She mutters, turning her head over her shoulder. "We're going to take a break." She says.

I nod my agreement. Both of the young women nod their agreement to the idea as well.

_Who knows what we'll be facing when we arrive at the source of the weird scents Pakkun is talking about, we need to be at 100 percent, and if we're not, we risk failing the mission…_

The whole group goes to ground level. We're careful not to set off any traps. Himeko uses her Byakugan to its full effect, eying the entire area and looking around using its 360 degree vision field to her advantage…

We find a small clearing nearby. I see Hebi make quick hand signs. Then she plants her hands on the ground.

Within minutes, I see a small log cabin sprout out of the ground, making a convenient shelter for the lot of us…

"That's handy…" I mutter. The three of us go inside, Pakkun disappearing in a puff of smoke when we do.

Inside the small cabin the floor is wood, grown out of the ground only a few seconds earlier. Even the door has working hinges. There's no furniture though. I watch when Hebi uses the kekkei genkai again, creating four bed frames out of the ground.

"This is amazing…" Himeko mutters, her voice showing some awe.

"This kekkei genkai has served me well during my time as a ninja and now as an ANBU member." She says. "There's nothing worse then being stuck out in the middle of nowhere without any sort of shelter against the elements, and with this kekkei genkai, as long as I have the chakra, I can just create it."

I nod.

"You were fortunate to have inherited that power." I say simply. I walk over to one of the beds, sitting down on the edge. Letting out a long sigh, I allow the Sharingan to fade from my eyes.

"Worn out, are you?" Hebi asks with deep breaths rushing in and out of her lungs.

I nod.

"Keeping you in that genjutsu, plus everything else we've gone through today has tired me out." I say simply.

I unclasp the cloak and open it completely. Standing up long enough to take off the cloak then I sit down again.

Hebi eyes my burn scarred right arm. When Himeko sees it, I see a somber expression cross her face.

"What happened to your right arm?" Hebi asks. "You stick it in a fire?"

I smirk.

"You could say that." I tell her. "I damaged it while I was learning to master the Amaterasu." I tell her.

She raises her eyes.

"Amaterasu…" She mutters.

"It's one of the jutsu that the Mangekyo Sharingan allows me to use."

"Mangekyo Sharingan?" She asks.

I nod again.

"It's a heightened form of the Sharingan, allowing me to use two extremely powerful jutsu, the Amaterasu, a ninjutsu which creates a black fire hotter then the sun, and Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu that allows me to create an entire world within the victim's mind. Three days can pass in it in a moment, giving me infinite time to do whatever I want to the victim."

I hear her grunt.

"Sounds like these jutsu of yours are pretty powerful, yet when you used that genjutsu on me, time passed normally."

I nod.

"I didn't use the Tsukuyomi on you." I tell her.

"Why not, if it's so powerful, why didn't you?"

"It costs him his eyesight." Raika answers for me.

Hebi looks at the girl, then back to me.

"What does she mean?" The ANBU member asks.

"Just what she said…" I respond. "Whenever I use the Mangekyo Sharingan, my normal eyesight gets a little worse, eventually I'll be blind."

"Whoa…" I hear the woman mutter, for the first time the cold edge to her voice is gone.

"That's why Lord Tsuzaku only uses those jutsu as last resorts." Raika explains. "And I've vowed to protect him, to prevent him from ever having to resort to that."

_Yeah, not only do they make my eyes go bad, they also drain my chakra…_

I fold the cloak up neatly in my hands until it's roughly the size of a pillow. Then I set it near the head of the bed…

"You're going to sleep on that cloak?" Hebi asks. I nod, putting my head on it and lying down.

"Yeah, it's more comfortable then you would think, and since I've been on my own for over 2 years, I've learned to sleep on almost anything."

I glance around to see Raika and Himeko copying my idea. I smirk inside at the thought, that I'm the one with the copying power, and they're doing it for once…

"You know, you really are a weird kid, you know that, Sasaki?" Hebi asks, using my last name.

I nod.

"I'm well aware of how strange I am." I tell her, rolling over and putting my back to her.

"I'll also have you know, that I don't believe for a second that you aren't an Uchiha, regardless of what you may want to be called, you're linked to that cursed family someway, and the Sharingan is proof of that."

"You think so?" I ask. "What if I told you that I had a demon sealed up inside me, and every time I've seen him in my mind, he's got the Sharingan in his eyes?"

I don't see Hebi raise her eyebrows.

"A demon…" She mutters in disbelief.

I motion toward Himeko.

"Ask her, she'll tell you, she's seen me lose control to it, and has seen just how powerful it is."

I don't see Hebi look to Himeko. I can tell just from the expression on Himeko's face that Hebi's expression is one that asks for confirmation of everything I've just said. Himeko nods, doing just what Hebi asked.

"So, you're a Jinchuriki?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"The demon inside me was once human; at least, I think so…" I respond. "Although, I think some sort of sealing jutsu was used by my father to imprison him inside me, effectively turning him into a creature of chakra."

"So, you think that because you've had this demon inside of you, that you're capable of using the Sharingan?"

"The thought had crossed my mind." I tell her. "Though, I don't know exactly if that's the truth or not." I say simply. "The only thing I can say though is that if it is the truth, I want this thing out of me."

She scoffs.

"Why would you want to lose a power like the Sharingan?" She asks. "It's obvious that with this demon, you're much stronger then you are without it."

I shake my head.

"You have no idea." I say simply. I close my eyes, putting an end to the conversation.

I fall into a light sleep quickly after that, and I don't dream, I guess because I'm not out long enough to enter REM sleep…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

My eyes open to a quiet crackling noise, as if the air itself were alive with energy. I open my eyes and I sit up, looking around the newly created house. I can see the bed where Raika was sleeping is now empty, with her Akatsuki cloak missing as well. I move to the edge of the bed. I grab my cloak before I stand up. I unfurl the cloak, wrapping it around my body and clasping it around me, feeling whole again…

I can feel the energy in the air. I recognize the feeling…

I walk outside the small home. I see Raika outside, standing 10 feet away from the hut. Her hands are together in a simple hand sign. Lightning flares around her body, a humanoid form floating above her like a spirit. Its entire body made of electricity, its eyes glowing brightly…

"Haven't seen that in a while…" I mutter. "Your 'Thunder God Jutsu' I believe, right?"

The image of the lightning god fades from above her. Her chakra returns to its normal levels…

"I'm sorry Lord Tsuzaku…" She says. "I didn't mean to wake you."

I shake my head.

"You didn't wake me, I just woke up on my own, and noticed you were gone when I woke up, and I just wanted to find you."

"You were concerned about me…" She says.

I nod my head.

"You are precious to me, just like Himeko and many other people in this world." I tell her.

She nods once. I can tell that she doesn't like the fact that I mentioned Himeko's name, or the fact that I care about anyone as much as I care about her…

The wind blows gently. I catch a scent in my nostrils…

_This scent, there's people nearby…_

"Raika…" I begin, spinning around to see figures farther in the forest, now nothing but shadows…

"Get inside!" I order the girl. "Wake Himeko and the others!"

Raika looks at me once then nods her agreement. She knows better then to try and disobey me.

She takes off into the house. I see one of the shadows put their hands together. I realize what's going on…

_A genjutsu, oh crap, need to activate my Sharingan, turn it on them…_

I try to activate the kekkei genkai in my eyes, but I begin to feel the effects, my eyes get so heavy. I feel my knees give out…

_Some sort of sleep inducing jutsu, if I had my Sharingan, I would've seen it the second it was cast, but like this…_

I feel my eyes close, slipping into unconsciousness…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I awake to the sound of chains rattling, and I feel my arms up above my head, my shoulders panging in pain as I realize I'm hanging by my arms. My feet are bound, and won't move. When I open my eyes, I see my feet are chained together with a large metal weight holding them down. When I look up I see my hands are held together in a metal bond. The bond keeps my hands far enough apart to prevent me from using any hand signs…

I look at my body to see my tool pouch along with my cloak is gone. When I look around I see I'm in a dark dank cell, with iron bars and stone walls. A single window lights the small room. I can see across a dark hallway into a similar, empty cell.

_Looks like someone locked me up, though I don't know who, and they even went through the trouble of taking my tools and my ability to use ninjutsu with these bonds…_

I hear a metallic groan as if a door were opened on old hinges. I hear several sets of feet coming down stairs. I see three individual people stop in front of cell, with one man in front, and two behind, one to the left and the right…

The man in front wears white clothing, a long jacket that hangs down to his knees, with long sleeves and a white shirt underneath. He wears white pants and blue open toed ninja sandals. The two people behind him are dressed in black ninja clothing, with masks and hoods that cover everything but their eyes, judging from their form, the one on my right is a woman, and the one on my left is a man…

"So, you finally woke up, just in time, though it is impressive, for a genjutsu that's supposed to knock a person out for 4 hours, to wear off in just over an hour…" He explains.

I look him over.

"Who are you, and what do you want from me?"

I see him smile.

"Tsuzaku Uchiha, ninja registered to the Hidden Leaf Village, heir to the infamous Uchiha clan and the Sharingan, trained to use the Strong Fist form of Taijutsu, and is a ninjutsu specialist, rumored to be the leader of a group of ninja working to kill off rogue ninja by the name of Akatsuki, though currently only Chunin in rank, he is considered to be the best ninja in his graduating class, and a prime candidate for Future Hokage."

I scoff.

"I don't know who you're talking about." I tell him. "My name is Sasaki, not Uchiha, I'm an orphan that was found outside the village and raised by a foster family." I tell him.

He looks me over.

"Anyway, none of that really matters." He tells me. "Because you've managed to make the wrong people angry, and there's enough money on your head for me to be able to retire and live the good life for the rest of my life."

I look him over, and I shake my head.

"You do realize what's going to happen to you if you keep me here, don't you?" I ask.

He smirks.

"What are you going to do?" He asks. "Your hands are bound, and there's no way any of us are going to fall for any of your tricks."

I shake my head.

"It isn't me you want to worry about; it's the people that want me out of here." I tell him. "Think about it, if you broadcast the fact that I'm here, then those people who don't want to pay the bounty, and would just rather hire a ninja at a lower price and have that ninja bring me to him." I pause. "And then there's my organization, they are definitely going to come after me, and Akatsuki's contacts are everywhere, even I don't know where they all are."

I see him shake his head.

"No matter what you say, you aren't going anywhere." He tells me. "We're going to hold you here until we feel you've outlived your purpose."

I just close my eyes.

"Whatever…" I say simply.

"Are you going to tell us about the Hidden Leaf?" He asks. "Or are you going to force us to starve you until you pass out and die?"

I keep quiet, though I hear him scoff.

"Well, I'll be back…" He says. "And when I do, either you'll talk, or I'm going to cut those precious eyes of yours out of your head."

I don't respond. I hear the footsteps going away. I open my eyes to see I'm once again alone in the jail, no one else around…

_That's what they want me to think, for all I know they've got a ninja hiding around here using a genjutsu, but I can fix that…_

I close my eyes and activate my Sharingan. Opening my eyes I look around. I see that I am actually alone. I can't see anything other then a normal area with my Sharingan then I smirk to myself…

_Have to get out of here, and with my hands tied, I can't try using any sort of clone jutsu or anything like that. I need a way to get out of here that doesn't involve any hand signs…_

Through my Sharingan, I remember the jutsu used by the Sixth Hokage during our brief fight…

_He formed that spiraling ball of chakra, and from what I could see with my Sharingan's analytical powers, it would be a great way to tear away at something. Well, right now I need to use that jutsu, so all I need to do is remember just what he did, how he managed to mold his chakra…_

I close my eyes, and I remember exactly what happened, exactly what I saw through the Sharingan, how his chakra was molded, and what it is he did to form the jutsu…

I copy the actions, focusing my chakra in my hand, using the skills I acquired to focus not only the Amaterasu but also other jutsu that I worked on during the time I spent away from the village. I can feel the chakra beginning to swirl, forming a spinning ball of chakra the same size as a baseball when I form a stable outer shell to house the chakra. After nearly 2 minutes, I can feel the stable ball in my hand. I tilt my wrist forward toward the chain, feeling the ball of chakra collide with the chain. I focus more chakra to keep the ball stable. Finally I feel the spinning ball slice through the chain, freeing me from the ceiling…

I manage to keep the spiraling ball stable and in my hand, and I use it to split the hand cuffs. Then finally I free my legs and feet from the chains, the ball dissipating in my hand…

_I could barely form that Jutsu, looks like my Sharingan isn't as powerful as I thought, but at least I was able to form the jutsu without too much trouble…_

I hear a creaking noise, and I know that the door to the dungeon has opened. With my Sharingan in my eyes, I stand there and I wait. I put my hands together making several hand signs in quick succession. The genjutsu covering my body in chakra, bending the light around my body, making me appear invisible…

The guard comes into my vision. I stand there perfectly still when he gasps in surprise, thinking that I've somehow broken out of my cell. He grabs the keys at his waist and slides them into the lock. Opening the cell door and giving me a way out. I lung forward and the genjutsu shatters when I lock eyes with him, concentrating chakra into my right hand. I create another spinning ball of chakra in my right hand. I drive my hand into the guy. He gasps at the last second when the spinning ball drives into his chest, spinning him in the air like a top. After that he goes flying back into the cell door across the hall, the guard groaning in pain before he loses consciousness…

I stand there when the jutsu completely vanishes. I look him over, and I can tell that he is actually unconscious, thanks to the insight granted to me by my Sharingan…

_Okay, time to find my tools and my cloak, and then get out of here._

Removing the chains from my legs with a simple application of chakra, I leave the dungeon area. I know that they are going to keep my clothes and weapons nearby, not having enough time to move them far away from me. I find them in a nearby room, filled with boxes on boxes. After I slide my arms through the cloak and close it, I open one of the boxes, and I see it's filled with exploding tags…

_This is a box full of bombs…_

I check three other boxes, and they all three are full of exploding tags. I realize that this must be a bomb storage room. I smirk when I slap one of the bombs onto the side of one of the boxes. Then I set the fuse, setting it for just over an hour…

_That should give me plenty of time…_

I take off out of the room. I move stealthily through the building, heading toward the door. I move carefully, finally managing to make my way to the door. I'm a foot away from it when I hear someone clear their throat from behind me…

"Looks like I underestimated you, Uchiha…" I hear the bandit leader say from behind me.

I turn around and see him standing there, along with 5 of his subordinates behind him.

"All of them, just for me?" I ask. "You're going to make me feel special."

He looks at me with daggers for eyes.

"I don't know how you managed to escape from that cell and those restraints, but I won't make the same mistake again." He tells me. "Surrender now; or I'll kill you."

I look at the assembled force, and I shake my head.

"None of these ninja can even hope to touch me." I say simply. "And besides, you've got other problems."

He raises his eyebrows as if to ask 'What problem?' but before he can ask, a loud explosion booms through the halls of the base, rocking the structure when the bomb I planted finally goes off. During the brief confusion, I take off out from the building at a full run.

I emerge into an open area. I see people roughly 20 feet away at the edge of the forest. I recognize the two of them, both wearing Akatsuki cloaks…

_Himeko, Raika…_

I see the two shinobi emerge from the trees. I take off at a full run, feeling my legs pumping against the ground I close the distance quickly. I hear shouts from behind me. I realize that I didn't get away quite as clean as I thought. The bandits aren't going to just let me go…

_Oh great…_

I stop halfway between Himeko and Raika and the bandit's base. I face the bandits, facing them fully and squaring my shoulders…

I see the bandit leader emerge from the line of bandits. He approaches me alone, and I stare him down, my Sharingan piercing into his mind…

_He plans to fight me one on one…_

"You bastard…" He mutters. "How dare you destroy my home?"

"It isn't your home." I tell him. "It's a pile of junk, and a place you use to coordinate illegal activities."

He shrugs.

"Don't talk to me so high and mighty, you're nothing more then a murderer who happens to murder criminals, nothing more then a vigilante from the law, your whole organization is nothing but a group of vigilantes!"

"So?" I ask. "What's your point?" I continue. "At least we're trying to make the world a better place, where all you're doing is breaking the law for your own selfish reasons!"

He growls, clenching his fists. Then he puts his hands together, forming a generic hand sign…

"I'm going to kill you, do you here me?" He yells, his chakra flaring around him…

_That's rather impressive, he can't be a normal person, he has to be a rogue ninja of some kind, which means I'm furthering Akatsuki's goals of getting rid of all rogue ninja by killing him..._

I spread my legs and I clench my fists, watching him like a hawk through the Sharingan…

He makes several hand signs, and I recognize the sequence…

"Everyone, get BACK NOW!" I yell behind me.

My subordinates know better then to question an order I give them. Both Himeko and Raika know I wouldn't be telling them that unless I believed there to be reasonable danger. The whole of the Akatsuki force retreats. I see the bandit leader open his mouth…

"Water Release: Great Flood Jutsu!" He says.

Water comes spewing out of his mouth as if the flood gates on a damn were opened. I immediately leap into the air when his technique covers the entire area in 7 feet deep water. I see it blanket the land for at least 2 miles to my left and right. The water blankets up to the tree line on the forest…

_Incredible, he's actually controlling where the water goes with his chakra, the water is filled with it…_

I land on the water and I stand there. Using the walking on water skill taught to us in the academy…

_Where is he?_

I look around the lake of water. I can't see his form beneath the shimmering surface. I look down, the water is clear and he is nowhere to be found…

_Above me!  
_I look up to see him above me, his back to the sun, using the bright light of the water to temporarily blind me, combined with the flood water as a distraction…

I close my eyes. I use my Sharingan, copying a jutsu I witnessed a year ago…

"Water Release: Water Wall…" I mutter.

Water shoots up around me and surrounds me in a protective dome as a mass of water shaped like a shark emerges from the lake and flies toward me. Impacting the protective dome, I strengthen the chakra surging through the dome. It holds under the attack.

_Now..._

I make a quick hand sign. In a moment, my plan goes into motion.

I see him come down and land on the water with the water dome dropping. Keeping me dry as the water wall falls the same way it came up…

"Impressive…" I hear him say. "That Sharingan of yours allowed you to see what Jutsu I was going to execute, and you defended well."

I don't smirk; I keep my face cold and emotionless.

"Down to business eh?" He asks, putting his hands together. "That's fine with me!"

He starts making hand signs. I open my eyes wide, my hands coming together, forming signs at an accelerated pace compared to him. When I catch up to him, my hands copy his speed, moving with the exact same speed and movement as his own…

He stops mid sign, staring at me, his eyes showing puzzlement…

"You're copying me?" We both say in unison.

We both growl in anger.

"Shut up!" We both yell. "Stop that!"

He starts making signs again and I continue, copying him with precision accuracy. My stance, the hand speed, everything I do mirrors his movements…

He makes the last hand sign. Together, we both name the technique.

"Water Release: Dragon Blast Jutsu!" We both yell out.

The techniques happen at the same time. Two giant 20 foot tall dragons made of water rise up out of the lake. His dragon has glowing yellow eyes, while the eyes on my dragon glow red. His dragon charges forward and my dragon does as well. The two beasts collide and intertwine, biting and snarling at each other like two living dragons. The two of us stand there, our bodies still holding the last sign of the sequence while we both manipulate our respective dragons…

"You can't beat me with that imitation jutsu!" He yells. "For all your power, all that Sharingan does is let you copy your opponent; you can't use any of your own original techniques!"

I smirk when the two dragons push against each other. The two jutsu cancel each other out, water dropping down on us like a localized rainstorm.

"I don't need any of my dojutsu to kill you." I say simply.

"You think you can end this fight just by copying my techniques?" He asks. "My chakra reserves are deeper then you think!"

I shake my head, water dripping from my hair…

"What makes you think I was trying to end this fight?" I ask him.

His eyes go wide, and I close the trap…

My real body comes up out of the water behind him. I stab a kunai through his right kidney. He turns his head to the right to look at me. I wrench the blade in the wound, deepening the wound…

"You…" He mutters.

The other me standing on the water across from him disappears in a puff of smoke…

"A Shadow Clone..." I tell him. "I made the switch when you attacked with that Water Shark Missile, while the water wall technique was stopping you from getting a good look at me; I made the shadow clone and dove into the water, using an invisibility ninjutsu to conceal myself as I swam through the water."

"You…" He begins, swallowing the saliva in his mouth. "You made your Shadow Clone copy me, knowing it would infuriate me, and make me sloppy, so I would focus on the clone and not pay attention to the flicker under the water?"

I nod.

"Now you get it." I tell him.

I rip the knife from his kidneys by pulling it out to the side. He groans in pain and falls forward. I hold the blood stained weapon in my right hand.

"The knife was poisoned." I tell him. "Either you'll bleed to death right here, or you'll die in 5 minutes."

He clutches the still bleeding wound. He's on his hands and knees, doing everything he can to remain on the water…

"You bastard…" He insults me. "I can see why the Uchiha clan was known and feared…"

I grimace at the mention of the word 'Uchiha.'

"My name is Sasaki." I tell him, kicking him in the head with all the force I can muster, launching him into the air.

He lands with a splash and goes under. I feel the water level begin to fall when he loses control of the jutsu. The water floods not only the forest but the surrounding area…

Less then a minute later, the water has soaked the ground, my free hanging hair dripping from my dip in the miniature lake…

My clothes are soaked. I can feel the water sliding down my bangs as it drips down. I hear slow footsteps behind me as I stare down at the dead body of the bandit leader now at my feet. His body is sprawled out on the ground, having gone under and probably swallowed a large amount of water, as well as the liquid filling his wound…

"Tsuzaku, are you all right?" I hear Himeko's voice.

I turn toward her and I nod. I give her a smile before my eyes return to their normal state.

She looks away from me and down toward the bandit leader.

"He must've been a ninja…" She begins. "His skill was something no one can just pick up."

I nod my agreement. I turn back toward him, only half turning. Looking down at the now lifeless corpse before me, I can't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

"I believe he was a rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in The Mist, there's no other explanation for his knowledge of water jutsu, unless he was taught by a rogue…"

_Either way, the world is a better place for having lost him, his men will be disorganized, and local law enforcement will be able to take care of them…_

"He's dead now." I hear Raika's voice. She approaches the two of us, her steps slow and deliberate. "I was unable to protect you, Lord Tsuzaku, and I apologize." She says, bowing toward me.

I wave my left hand dismissively.

"I've told you before Raika, your devotion to me is flattering, but you don't have to act as my bodyguard."

She shakes her head.

"My life is yours, Lord Tsuzaku; you may do with it as you wish."

I can see Himeko is somewhat disturbed by this conversation. I shake my head.

_It's as if she's really happy the way she is. Up until now, I've just been taking it for granted, using her power to try and further my own ambitions of ridding the world of ninja criminals, I never stopped to think about her happiness, and that she may enjoy her role…_

"Anyway…" I begin, changing the subject.

_How do you respond to something like that with other people around who don't know what you're talking about, or even have a clue as to why someone says that to you? _

"He is dead…" I continue. "And sooner or later, his group is going to fall, either way; we have other business to attend to."

The two girls nod their agreements. We start off into the forest, the three of us walking as a group. It's only after we walk for nearly a half an hour before a thought occurs to me.

"Where's Hebi?" I ask. "Did you three sneak off after me in the night and leave her?"

The two girls shake their heads in disagreement.

"She said that she would wait at the cabin." Himeko tells me. "She said that rescuing you wasn't a priority, and therefore wasn't going to even attempt to rescue you."

I hear Raika scoff.

"That damnable woman…" She mutters. "How can she feel that way toward you Lord Tsuzaku?" She asks. "Your powers are essential to our mission, and knowing full well who you are, she left you there to rot."

I shake my head.

"She probably thinks that because I was weak enough to get caught in the first place that I wasn't worth having along on this mission."

She shakes her head in denial.

"You only got caught because of me, because of the fact that you were talking to me, and I was practicing…"

I shrug.

"Either way, those ninja weren't capable of holding me, and it was easy enough to break out."

"How did you do that, Lord Tsuzaku?" Raika asks. "The ninja said he had your hands and legs bound, which means you couldn't have used any sort of ninjutsu or genjutsu."

I nod.

"Not a normal ninjutsu anyway…" I tell her. "I had to use the jutsu the Sixth Hokage used against me during our little skirmish when I returned to the village."

"You mean the one he used where he didn't use any hand signs?"

I nod.

"Using my Sharingan, I somehow managed to form a rudimentary copy of the jutsu, though it lacked any sort of real power behind it, just enough to break through the metal chains, nowhere near enough to stop an enemy ninja." I tell her.

"So, after you broke out of the chains, you just made your way out?"

I nod.

"Essentially yes, I just used whatever skill I needed to free myself, and then you saw my fight against the bandit leader…"

"You never cease to amaze me, Lord Tsuzaku…" Raika says in astonishment.

"I'm just a ninja; my skills are all because of the Sharingan." I tell her. "Without that, I couldn't have escaped the way I did, without the copying power of the Sharingan; I never would've been able to form that spinning jutsu from just seeing it without the kekkei genkai."

"It's good that you recognize heredity over your own power." I hear Hebi's voice. I see the woman appear from behind a tree ahead of us. She eyes me with cold eyes.

"You…" I mutter, and she looks at me.

"I'm glad to see the infamous Copy Ninja, Tsuzaku Sasaki doesn't take his powers for granted, and he knows that without the bloodline that runs through his veins, he'd have nothing!"

I hear Raika growl.

"Enough!" The girl yells.

She moves between me and the group leader, glaring down the ANBU member with anger in her eyes…

"Raika…" I begin, and I see Hebi smile.

"You want to fight me, for HIS sake?" The woman asks, pointing toward me. "You must be joking!"

She starts to laugh. I see lightning start to crackle across Raika's body. I see her fists clench, and then her hands come together…

_Raika, a former Hidden Cloud ninja whose clan can manipulate lightning chakra by storing it within their bodies, as such any lightning based attack is worthless against them. Because their bodies are constantly containing massive amounts of lightning chakra, their resiliency is high, almost superhuman…_

"Lightning…" I hear Hebi mutter as the chakra flows all over her body.

"Himeko, we should stand back." I suggest. The two of us move away, leaping back and putting 20 feet between Raika and I.

I look to the left and I see Himeko staring at Raika.

"What is she doing?" Himeko asks. "I've never seen anyone manipulate lightning chakra with such ease."

"It's her clan's power…" I tell her. "For generations her ancestors have stored lightning chakra in their bodies, making them resistant to the deadly effects of the chakra…" I tell her. "Right now, that girl is basically a living lightning rod…"

She makes three hand signs, and holds the last sign.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Clone Jutsu!" Raika yells.

I see the energy leap from her body and land next to her on both sides, the chakra forming into two humanoid shaped energy clones standing next to her, matching her stance exactly…

"Lightning clones…" Hebi mutters. "First time I've seen anything like that…"

_Lightning clones, a Hidden Cloud Variant of the many clone jutsu in the world. These clones require a little more chakra then the normal clone jutsu do, since lightning chakra is so unstable, plus it requires more chakra to maintain multiple clones, since even more chakra is required…_

The two living masses of lightning chakra charge forward, both of them lunging toward Hebi as the ANBU member leaps into the air. She makes a hand sign. I see her sprout a tree from her right palm, sending it toward a tree, she uses as a rope as the tree wraps around the other tree. Then she swings on the branch as the two clones change direction and come after Hebi…

The two embodiments of lightning charge, and I see Raika manipulate the clones. The two bodies of electricity fire bolts of lightning from their arms, blasting bolts of electricity toward Hebi. The ANBU member takes to the air, making a generic hand sign and sprouting 2 wood clones from her body using her kekkei genkai. The two clones leap for Raika's clones. The two bodies clash, the wooden clones igniting into flames when the lightning heats the trees, and reduces the illusionary 'skin' of the clone and turning it into a flaming pile of wood.

I see the two masses of wood burn out and then fall to the ground. The lightning burns the wood so quickly the flames aren't around long enough to spread…

Raika moves using body flicker and Hebi lands on the ground. Hebi's eyes scan the area for any sign of her opponent…

There's a crackle of electricity from behind her; and Hebi moves quickly, sprouting a tree branch from her right hand. She wraps the branch around a tree and yanks herself up toward the higher branch. Raika charges in with a palm charged with electricity. I see the girl stop on the branch Hebi was standing on, and then look up, eying the ANBU member as the girl crosses her hands into a hand sign.

"Mokuton: Tree of Death Jutsu!" She yells.

I see branches sprout from the branch Hebi is standing on, these branches have sharp pointed ends, shooting toward Raika like bullets…

I see Raika focus her chakra onto her hands, the crackling electricity intensifies. I see her swing her right hand, the chakra extending and forming a blade of electricity. She uses the blade of chakra to slice the branches apart, eliminating their threat.

_Two ninja fighting using their kekkei genkai like this, it's a rare thing to see…_

Raika leaps into the air, making a hand sign. I see lightning surround her like an aura, and bolts of the energy leap off of her toward Hebi. The ANBU member disappears in a puff of smoke when the bolts strike the tree. When Raika lands on the branch, I see her look around, looking for the now hidden ANBU member. Raika looks around, scanning the forest around her. I see her leap from the branch, heading toward the ground, her hands together when she hits the ground.

I see the girl close her eyes, focusing all her other senses to try and find Hebi…

_That's a risky gambit, if you shut your eyes, you lose a sense that could help you see through the illusion Hebi is casting. Well, if she's only using a genjutsu, then she could see through the jutsu by listening to movement and feeling the movements in the air, though that's a hard skill to master…_

I see Raika open her eyes, and spin around. She thrusts her open palm forward; with lightning leaping from her palm. The lightning blasts the bushes and trees in front of her. Hebi leaps from her hiding spot, the jutsu now undone…

Hebi makes a sequence of hand signs, with Raika doing so as well…

_That sequence, I recognize it, she can't be thinking of using THAT jutsu!_

I see her finish the sequence and Hebi finishes her sequence as well. My right arm reaches out and grasp Himeko's left hand.

"We need to get out of here!" I tell her.

We both leap into the trees when lightning flashes across Raika's body.

"Lightning Release: Thunder God Jutsu!" Raika shouts out.

_Damnit I knew it…_

"Mokuton: Slaying Wood Jutsu!" She yells.

I see branches sprout out from all over Hebi's body when her kekkei genkai creates the wooden weapons. Spikes, wooden blades, and several other types of weapons appear on her body, with a large being made of lightning growing off of Raika's body. The creature's eyes white slashes in its blue head, its mouth like a deep pit filled with sharp teeth. The lightning god roars in anger. They both charge each other. The energy being and Hebi, covered from head to toe in wooden armor and weapons, clashing in an explosion of chakra and smoke…

Both Himeko and I cover our eyes with our arms. I turn on my Sharingan, hoping that the dojutsu will somehow allow me to see through the smoke, maybe catch a glimpse of either of them.

I hear a strange noise. I look right to see Himeko has her Byakugan in her eyes, and I know that she has a much better chance of seeing them then I do…

"They all right…?" I ask, trying not to cough.

She nods.

"They're both fine, though I'd say the fight is over, they both don't seem to be moving."

"Are they alive, or did they kill each other?" I ask.

She nods.

"They're both alive; it just looks like they're both drained to the point where they can't keep going."

When the smoke clears and the dust settles, I see the two of them lying on the ground, both of them looking up at the sky. Their stomachs moving up and down quickly and visibly, indicating both of them to be out of breath and tired…

_Their also probably almost out of chakra as well, since they both burned so much using their respective powers…_

I approach them with the Sharingan leaving my eyes. I walk toward Raika first. When I enter her vision, I see the girl force herself to smile.

"Lord Tsuzaku, did I win?"

I shake my head no.

"It was a tie." I tell her, extending my right hand.

My subordinate reaches out, taking my hand without second thought. I quickly pull her to her feet.

"Can you walk?" I ask her simply. She gives me a curt nod.

I turn toward the Jounin woman, our supposed leader who is supposed to keep the three of us in line. She no doubt is also to watch us for any hints of betrayal to the village…

"Aren't you going to stand up, Hebi-sensei?" I ask her sarcastically. "Don't tell me my subordinate gave you a challenge."

The woman seems spurred by my comments. I see her get to her feet, slowly and unsteadily, but she does get up under her own power.

"That girl…" Hebi begins, eying Raika with a cold stare. "Who is she, and where did you find her?"

Her gaze shifts to me when she asks the question. I just shrug my shoulders.

"She's an orphan I found during my absence from the village." I tell the woman. "I'm the one who gave her a name, and she decided of her own will to offer her services to me as a bodyguard." I explain to the woman.

I see Raika shake her head from the corner of my eye.

"I am not your bodyguard, Lord Tsuzaku, I am yours completely, to do whatever you wish of me."

I see Hebi raise her eyebrows at this.

"Just HOW old are you again?" The ANBU woman asks.

"Old enough to know what you're thinking…" I respond to the woman. "And the answer is no, I haven't."

Himeko walks next to me. I see the ANBU member nod.

"Oh yes, you're involved with the Heir to the Hyuga Main Branch…" She tells me about my own love life. "Although I wonder, what does the family think of an Uchiha, a member of a clan that has produced two of the greatest criminal ninja in the world, being involved with the current heir?"

The next thing Hebi knows, a kunai grazes her right cheek, close enough to slice off a few locks of hair…

"My name is SASAKI." I tell the woman again. "Insist on referring to me by any other name, and we will have problems."

The woman looks at me with awe in her eyes. Both Himeko and Raika don't even appear fazed by my movements, or the speed at which they happened. The fact that I drew the kunai and threw it without Hebi being able to follow the motion doesn't impress the two of them; they only expect it from me…

"All right…" She mutters, giving up the argument. "We all need to head back to the hut, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and we all need our rest."

"For once, you and I agree on something."

The four of us walk back to the log cabin sprouted up out of the ground by Hebi in silence. We all walk inside, taking our beds. I set my pillow up using my Akatsuki cloak. I lie down, using the lessons taught in the academy on how to sleep even when you aren't tired, because on the battlefield, the fighting doesn't stop at night to let the soldiers rest…

We all drift off, and when I do fall asleep, I dream I'm standing in front of the cell door again, the figure behind the bars cloaked in shadow…

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So, you've come back…" The voice mutters. "How many years has it been since we last had a nice long talk?"

I shake my head.

"Not long enough." I tell him. "I don't know what you are, nor do I know why it is you called me here."

I see him smirk.

"I've been watching what's going on around you recently." He tells me. "And I wanted to give you some advice."

"Advice?" I ask sarcastically. "You've never wanted to help me, you only want to take my body and use it for your own ambitions."

I see him open his mouth, the shadows parting to reveal white teeth in a smile shape.

"That's true; but that ninja, Hebi, is trouble, don't let your guard down around her."

"She's trouble?" I ask the thing. "How do you know, you haven't even seen her!"

He shakes his head.

"Your Sharingan and my Sharingan are connected, you know that." He explains to me. "That's why you're able to recognize so many jutsu and copy them…"

I wave my hand.

"I know; I know…" I say in annoyance. "You told me all that stuff a while ago and I haven't forgotten." I pause. "I take it you've been watching through my Sharingan, and something about Hebi doesn't seem right to you?"

He nods.

"The members of the ANBU are the wet works of the Hidden Villages." He tells me. "Many times, they'll lead a squad on a mission, only to kill the members of the squad afterward, returning to the village and claiming that they all died in the line of duty, just to get rid of 'problem ninja.'" He explains. "I'm afraid that this 'Hebi' was sent by your Hokage to do just that, eliminate you and those two girls."

I shake my head.

"That's impossible, Himeko is the heir to the Hyuga family, one of, if not the most powerful and influential clans within the village."

"And she's involved with you, a ninja who has been operating a group of rogue ninja who hunt down and kill other rogue ninja." He explains. "It could be her own family thinks she's turned on the village, and wants her out of the way so her younger sister can take over."

I shake my head again.

"No, there's no way Hinata would ever do that to her child." I tell him with absolute confidence. "She's a good person, and she just isn't capable of anything like that."

He shrugs.

"We'll soon see…" He tells me. "Just remember, don't let your guard down around that woman, otherwise you might end up dead, and that's bad for both of us."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

With that, I open my eyes. I sit up and I look around, seeing the other three ninja all sitting up as well. Our training at the academy almost synchronizes us when we get up in the morning. We all get up quickly. I unfurl my cloak, surrounding my body with it. I stand there a moment while the three of them prepare. Then we all nod to each other, leaving the house. Hebi crosses her hands in a generic hand sign. I watch while the house collapses into a pile of twigs and branches. A moment later the four of us take off, searching through the forest with our eyes, scanning the area. We look for the trail left by the Yamikage operative…

Himeko has her Byakugan fully activated, using it's 360 degree field of vision to scan the entire area, increasing our search area…

"I've found something!" She yells, and the four of us stop in our tracks.

I look toward her.

"What'd you find Himeko?" I ask curiously.

She looks to her right with her Byakugan in her eyes. I see her focus on something…

"It's some sort of gathering ground." She explains. "It's 550 meters to the east of here."

_550 meters to the east of here, how the hell can she see that far without even staring in that direction? Is her Byakugan really that powerful? When I left the village, she couldn't do anything like see 600 meters around her in a 360 degree field of vision…_

"Do you have any other information, other then that?" Hebi asks, leaping to the same branch as Himeko.

"It looks like there's a small force of ninjas assembled, they're all wearing different uniforms, and I'd guess that they all belong to the Yamikage. They look like they're planning something, sitting around a table in the middle of the encampment, with a map laid out, but I can't make out the details on the map." Himeko tells me.

"Either way Himeko, that's more then enough information, we just raid the encampment, and whatever information we get, the better."

Hebi nods, but I see her raise her hand, telling the three of us not to move.

"We plan before we strike." She says simply. "The most logical way to do this is for Raika, Himeko and I to attack the encampment."

I raise my eyebrows.

"What about me?" I ask simply. "You don't trust me?"

The woman shakes her head.

"No, in fact, your job is the most important…" She begins. "Your job is catch one of the Yamikage ninja in that genjutsu, and then torture him and extract any information you can from him."

"You want me to use the Tsukuyomi?" I ask. "You do know what kind of stress that jutsu puts on me, plus, what using it does to me?" I ask.

She shrugs.

"I don't care, you don't have to use Tsukuyomi, just catch one of them in a genjutsu and then extract the information from him."

I nod.

"Fine then, I'll capture one of them, and get the information we need, you three just make sure I have the time necessary to work him over."

The three girls nod. We all take off, heading toward the encampment Himeko found using her Byakugan. We move quickly, moving in silence, keeping quiet to maintain the element of surprise. Himeko takes point, with her Byakugan giving her an edge at being able to see to such a distance; letting us see anyone coming for us.

She lands on a branch and raises her right hand. The three of us stop on our own respective branches…

_We must be close now; I can barely make out their talking over the sounds of the forest…_

I close my eyes, calling the Sharingan into them; I open them again, feeling the kekkei genkai's insight fill my vision.

I can see and make out things that I couldn't see before; I can predict the movements of the branches based off of the direction the leaves are blowing. I can see Himeko's muscles tighten, telling me that she's becoming tense, further confirming the fact that we're close…

_Too bad I don't have the power of insight like she does. I can see now why Chisato would want that power for herself, to be able to see through almost any form of concealment, plus be able to see around you like you have eyes in the back of your head, it's almost impossible to get around, and makes it virtually impossible to sneak up on them. I didn't believe that the kekkei genkai really did everything she claimed it did, that it was just posturing by the heir to the family, but now I know…_

She points down toward the ground. I cast my gaze down, seeing empty ground and no sort of genjutsu or ninjutsu present. I don't object when the four of us move down to the ground, taking shelter behind a large bush. The three of us form around Himeko.

"What do you see?" Hebi whispers. I glance around with my Sharingan, looking for any spies or possible guards, in case Himeko misses something…

"They've dispersed, and now they're all in tents, with the largest one holding 4 of them standing around a table. It looks like they're all preparing, sharpening weapons, putting on masks, preparing to go into combat from the looks of it all."

"We have to move then…" Hebi mutters. Himeko sticks her hand out.

"Wait, someone else just showed up." She tells us all.

My ears twitch at this.

"Who just showed?" I mutter.

"I don't know…" She mutters. "He's an older man, wearing a dark pair of pants with white robes on his chest. He's got ropes around his waist, and a straight sword against the small of his back. At the top of his back near the collar, there's a strange red and white fan symbol."

The description seems to ring a bell, but I can't seem to place it, particularly the part about the fan symbol on his back, near his collar…

_Where have I seen that before, think damnit!_

"Uh oh…" She mutters.

All three of us tense up.

"Have we been spotted?" Hebi whispers.

The Hyuga girl shakes her head no.

"No, they don't know we're here, but they've found our mystery guest." She says cryptically.

I see Hebi is nearly jumping out of her skin.

"So, don't keep up the suspense, what's going on?"

"He's talking to them." She says simply. "If I'm reading his lips right, he's asking them to forget about the Yamikage and join up with him." She tells us. "He says that if they join him, they will all have a chance at true power, and right now they will never have that chance."

"True power…" I mutter. "Are any of them taking the bait?"

She shakes her head.

"No, none of them are even convinced he's anyone, and they're readying weapons…"

"Looks like one less dead idiot in the world…" I mutter.

I see her face change, an expression of horror filling her once calm face…

"What is it?" Hebi demands.

There's a moment of silence before Himeko speaks up. I move to look at her face in that moment, seeing a horrified expression on her face.

"He's killed them all." She says. "He used some sort of lightning jutsu, made it into a long blade of chakra, and cut the tents down, and everyone else around him." She explains.

_Sounds like this guy is on our side…_

"He's turning around…" Himeko mutters. "Oh my…"

"What now?" Hebi demands.

"His eyes, they're just like Tsuzaku's…"

_The Sharingan, that's impossible!_

I move without thinking. I leap from behind the cover of the bush and I charge forward, heading for the encampment at my full speed. I move like a blur as I run forward. I can feel the blood pumping in my veins, anticipation and anger filling my mind with conflicting thoughts…

_If he's got the Sharingan, then he must be a relative of mine, maybe I can finally find out about my past!_

I emerge into the encampment and I stop, looking around at the carnage before me….


	17. Chapter 17: Reunion

Chapter 17: Reunion

(Well, it's been a while since I updated this one, but I assure you, this story is far from dead. The only reason I've focused on 'The Demon in the Hyuga Clan' is because of the overwhelming positive response I got from it. This one was my first Naruto brainchild, and I will finish it, so don't worry.)

Chapter 17: Reunion.

The encampment which was once used as a Yamikage staging ground for an attack now lies in ruins. Bodies are strewn about everywhere, giant cuts ripped into their flesh, the wounds cauterized and burned, telling me that an extremely hot blade sliced into them. The wounds sealed off and sterilized before the bodies even know what happened. I look around with my Sharingan. I search for some sign of survivors, or maybe of the man who did this to these people…

_He couldn't have disappeared so quickly, it was only a few seconds from after I leapt out of the bush to when I arrived, so how could he have disappeared?_

I walk into the encampment, taking slow, cautious steps. I carefully scan for trap wires or concealed exploding tags. I find myself standing nearby a still burning fire in the middle of the encampment. I look around, scanning between the tents and the make shift structures…

_Where are you, where did you go so quickly?_

I hear a footstep nearby. I spin toward the source of the noise, staring at it with my Sharingan focusing on it.

"Whoever you are, come out, I know you're there."

I watch as a man emerges from behind one of the structures, wearing an outfit exactly like the one Himeko described. His hair parted in the front with his bangs hanging at the sides of his face, with the back of his hair cut short, his left hand on his hip, a cocky smile on his face, and…

_The Sharingan in his eyes!_

"Hello, Tsuzaku." He says simply, staring at me with his own Sharingan…

"Who are you?" I mutter. "How do you know my name?"

He scoffs.

"Because I'm the one who gave it to you, you fool." He tells me. "It's your birth name, the one thing I gave you in life before I left you near the village."

I feel the blood begin to boil in my veins.

"You mean…" I begin, clenching my fists in anger.

He nods.

"Yes, I am the man who gave you life, the person whose blood gives you the Sharingan."

I feel my anger boil. I can feel myself calling on the black chakra, unconsciously filling my body with the demon's energy…

"Black chakra, hmm, how peculiar…" He says, analyzing me with his eyes.

My hands come together, forming hand signs in a blur of motion.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" I shout.

I blow through my fingers, igniting the flames. I see him leap back, landing on his feet as my fire extends to its zenith and then stops. Burning only the ground as I stop blowing through my right hand…

"So, you've mastered fire jutsu." He says, his hand drifting to his sword. "But I wonder, how much do you know of other jutsu?"

He draws the sword slowly, and I watch him, analyzing his movements, knowing that the hypnotic effect of the Sharingan won't work on him. If I try casting a genjutsu, he'll simply see through and counter it back toward me…

I see lightning chakra flow through the blade. He swings the sword in a wide arc. I see the blade of lightning shoot through the sword and extend. I back flip at the last moment, leaping over the blade as it passes harmlessly beneath me. I land on my feet, looking at him through the Sharingan, watching him retract the blade…

"Impressive, most ninja I meet don't dodge that attack." He mutters. "But then again, none of them were my son."

I spit in disgust.

"I don't know who you are, but as far as I'm concerned…" I begin, feeling the black chakra continue to flow through me. "I HAVE NO FATHER!"

I make hand signs quickly.

"Water Release: Dragon Blast Jutsu!"

I see his eyes go wide as I open my mouth, and I spit water from my mouth. Converting the black chakra into water based chakra while the black water forms into a black dragon. The dragon's yellow eyes menacing as it looks down at the man.

I don't even say a word as I order the dragon to attack. I see him leap into the air with a smirk on his face when the dragon hits the ground. It sends water flying everywhere…

I watch him make quick hand signs, my eyes barely able to follow his movements…

I see electricity crackle on the end of his hand. I recognize the move, a technique called Chidori, or 1000 Birds, using lightning chakra that sounds like birds chirping to deliver a devastating jab…

Only he doesn't use this as a jab. Instead he extends a blade of chakra from his left hand and aims for the water created by my jutsu. I realize his intent, to flash fry me using the water as a conductor…

I take to the air just before his attack strikes, charging the water with electricity. I make more hand signs…

"Shadow Clone Jutsu…" I mutter.

A clone appears next to me. He grabs me, spinning me around and throwing me toward the man. I watch as the man begins to raise the blade lightning. I'm already ahead of him…

I create another shadow clone next to me on my left, kicking off of the clone, I move in mid air and dodge his attack as he falls. I create yet another clone ahead of me, using it as a wall to bounce off of. Using my Sharingan, I predict where he will be as he falls. I coil my right hand like I'm holding a baseball…

I start forming that jutsu as I kick off of the clone. Flying toward him with the ball of spinning chakra beginning to form in my right hand…

I see his eyes go wide as he recognizes the technique. The spinning ball of chakra very familiar to him when I come charging for him, this ball made of spinning black chakra, more heavily concentrated and thicker then my normal orange chakra…

"No way, the Rasengan…" He mutters.

I yell in anger when I drive the spinning ball into his chest. I hear him groan as the ball begins to spin, trying to tear away his clothes and get to his flesh. I see an aura of chakra appear over his skin, and I look at his face, seeing black seed like dots have spread all over his face…

_What the hell is that?_

I watch as he puts both hands on the spinning ball I now hold against his abdomen. Then he takes one arm away at a time, pulling them through the sleeves of his robes, allowing his shirt to hang behind him…

I watch as the seal begins to spread, and I see two strange things begin to grow off his shoulder blades. His hair growing longer as his skin turns black. The whites of his eyes change to black. A cut like mark appears across his noise, with lightning chakra flowing across his body. I see the two objects are giant hand like wings, and now, he appears to be in complete control of my technique…

"This was a good try, but this won't work on me, not this half assed copy anyway!"

He smashes the ball of chakra by pressing his hands together, and this creates a blow black force that sends me flying back and toward the ground. I look down to see the electricity has dissipated from the water, and most of the water has absorbed into the ground, leaving no threat for me to land on the ground. I flip and come to a landing. I look up to see him not where he was. I move on instinct, leaping forward as a blade of lightning chakra comes from behind me in a wave motion. I can feel the blade as it barely misses my back. I go into a roll and come up looking at him in his now transformed state…

He stands with his left arm extended, lightning crackling at his hand, the blade of chakra extended off of his hand. The energy sounds like birds flapping their wings. This version of the technique black in color, in contrast to the blue color of his other Chidori…

_It's practically the same technique, except this one is much stronger, the chakra thicker and more intense then any other he's used before…_

"So, what do you think of my Chidori?" He asks, his voice somewhat twisted by his new form. "Isn't it an impressive feat, to be able to use this technique with such skill?"

I open my mouth to answer, but I hear someone else cut me off.

"To be expected of an Uchiha." I hear Hebi's voice. I see his gaze shift behind me, and I turn and look to see the three of them standing there. Raika runs toward me, Hebi standing with her hand on her hip.

"Raika, stay BACK…!" I order her, and she stops in mid step…

"Oh, afraid for your comrades, are we?" I hear the man mock me, his hand still crackling with the chakra.

I look back at him. A single thought crosses my mind.

_Whoever he is, as it stands right now, even with this black chakra, I can't beat him. Even with all the jutsu I've learned through the Sharingan, I don't know enough Earth, or any Wind based attacks that might be able to counter his lightning. My only chance lies in one of THOSE two techniques…_

I close my eyes, and I call the power into my eyes, heightening my Sharingan to its fully evolved heightened form…

_Mangekyo Sharingan!_

I open my eyes, the fully heightened Sharingan now in my eyes, replacing the fully evolved normal version of the eye…

"So, you've mastered the Mangekyo I see…" He mutters, now avoiding my gaze…

_I can't stay like this, I have to use one of those jutsu quickly and end this, and otherwise I'll end up blind!_

The thought of using the Tsukuyomi against the man makes my stomach turn, and I flex my fingers inward, focusing my chakra onto my right hand…

_That technique, the one I developed to kill Mizu during the Chunin Exams that may end this…_

I see him eye me and stare at me with his altered eyes, watching as the black fire begins to swirl around my body. I focus the chakra, focusing the jutsu on my right hand, feeling the fire begin to form on my hand, concentrating the fire on my right hand, feeling the black flame wrapping around my skin…

"The Amaterasu…" He mutters. "So, you've managed to master the Mangekyo Sharingan, and the two kekkei genkai jutsu of our clan." He says.

"Hand of the Sun God…" I mutter.

I charge forward, using my speed to launch myself forward. I see his eyes go wide as I drive my right hand into his chest. I see the attack land, his body shooting backward from both the force and flame base of the attack. His body flies back, and I see him flip backward, planting his feet into a tree. He opens his wings, and I see him grab his left wrist with his right hand, lightning chakra crackling on his hand…

"Chidori…" He mutters.

He flaps his wings and kicks off at the same time, using the force of his wings and the jump to propel himself forward. He thrusts his hand forward, and I make quick hand signs, focusing more chakra on my hand. I prepare to use the Hand of the Sun God again.

Black fire ignites on my right hand, and I coil my fingers, holding the flame there as he charges for me. Using his wings he glides toward me. He throws his left hand forward as I thrust my right hand forward, and our two techniques meet.

The two forces clash, his jutsu and mine pushing against each other; and the only reason his hand doesn't burn in the flames of the Amaterasu is the massive amount of lightning chakra on his hand. His chakra repels the flames and some dispelling them…

There's a flash of chakra as our attacks fizzle and cancel each other out, and we both slide back from the clash. The two of us stand there, the Mangekyo Sharingan in my eyes, with the sclera in his eyes now black, a fully evolved normal Sharingan in his eyes. I look at him, and I see him shift his weight as he stands there…

"Your skill with the Amaterasu is to be expected…" He mutters. "You are my son, after all…"

I growl under my breath, the Mangekyo Sharingan still in my eyes…

_I don't have a choice; it's either that jutsu or nothing. Even with the Sharingan, he can't reverse it and reflect it back at me, no matter how powerful he is…_

"This is over." I tell him.

He raises his eyebrows.

"Giving up so soon?" He asks. "This fight is still just getting started."

I shake my head.

"This ends now…" I mutter.

My right hand retracts into my cloak, grabbing several shuriken there, my right hand shoots out of the sleeve and I throw the weapons. He doesn't look impressed as he swats the throwing stars like flies, knocking them away with his chokuto…

"That won't work…" He says simply. "Is that really all you've got?"

I drive the kunai into his kidney, and he grunts in pain. He looks over his left shoulder, and he sees me standing there…

"No…way…a…Shadow Clone…" He mutters.

My eyes meet his.

"Tsukuyomi…" I mutter, the other me in front of him disappearing in a puff of smoke.

His eyes go wide as he realizes what is going on, and I can see him trying to counter the genjutsu, trying with all his skill to get out of the illusion…

"It's no use; you can't escape this fate…"

The world swirls, and the next thing I know, I'm standing in the middle of a barren wasteland, a red moon hanging in the sky. In front of me I see the man, crucified on a giant T, his back pressing his wings against the binding…

"So, you think this genjutsu will work on me?" He asks cockily. "This jutsu is a battle of our wills." He tells me. "If my will is strong enough, I can weather this genjutsu and emerge from it!"

"Oh, really…" I ask cockily approaching him.

He eyes me over.

"No weapon to help in your torture?" He asks.

I raise my right hand, electricity crackling on my hand in a familiar form…

"You…" He mutters.

"For the next three days, I'm going to cut you using your own blade of lightning chakra, I do hope you stay awake for it all, there's no fun in torturing an unconscious person!"

I extend the blade and I stab it into him. He groans in pain as the chakra burns in the wound, cauterizing as it cuts. I slide the blade carefully through the wound, pulling it through his body as he groans in pain. I continue this treatment, and I see him beginning to develop a tolerance to the pain. I simply create another copy of myself, and I stab a second blade of lightning chakra into him…

This keeps up for 72 hours straight. Every time he begins to deal with the pain, I turn it up to another threshold, constantly barraging his body with pain…

The illusionary world swirls, and the two of us come back to reality. He falls to his hands and knees as I close my eyes, turning off the Sharingan completely, my chakra totally drained from the use of the Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi back to back like that, even with the added power of the demon's black chakra…

I watch as his now blurry body changes, the wings retracting into his back as his skin returns to its normal color. He breathes heavily, and I can tell that he isn't in any condition to fight…

"You've lost…" I tell him, my legs feeling shaky.

I see him groan and he starts to move. I quickly return the Sharingan to my eyes…

_I can't afford to die here, and I can scrounge up the chakra to maintain the Sharingan at least…_

My vision clears, and I see him struggling as he gets to his feet, groaning as he does so, his arms hanging at his sides…

"I'm not done…" He mutters, breathing heavily, and Raika appears in front of me, blocking my view of him.

"Lord Tsuzaku, are you all right?" She asks, glaring at him.

"My friends are all in perfect condition." I tell him from behind my subordinate. "In your current state, they'd kill you."

He snaps his fingers, and I see three blurs of motion appear in front of him.

All three of the newcomers are dressed like him, and all are roughly my age. All of them are women, one a blonde, the other a brunette, and finally a red head. All of them wear the same thing he is, and none of them carry a sword of any kind…

"Meet Lilica, Yuka, and Rei." He introduces the three girls.

As he says their names, I see the blonde on the left nod first, then the brunette, and finally the red head…

"You think three more people dressed like you can stop us?" I ask, and I hear him scoff.

"These girls all have my gift of power…" He tells me. "Fight them, and you won't get away unharmed, not even you Tsuzaku."

_Gift of power, could he mean that they all have a strange transformation like he does?_

"Bring it on!" Lilica says. "Lord Uchiha has trained us in the ninja arts, and gifted us with true power…" She says. "There's no way you three will beat us."

I see both Hebi and Himeko stand next to Raika, and it's a standoff…

"Let him go." I say simply.

I see Hebi turn around and look at me.

"You aren't the leader here!" She says adamantly, and I nod.

"Yes, but I'm the only one who's fought any of them." I tell her. "I've seen first hand what this 'gift' of power he's talking about can do, how strong it can make a person, and right now, you don't want to fight one of them." I tell her. "Besides, our mission was to investigate the Yamikage activity and if we find any, to put a stop to it, not go off fighting against people we've just met." I tell her.

I see her nod, and then she turns around.

"Leave now, before my kindness runs out." Hebi says coldly, and I see the three bodyguards' shift, Yuka and Rei taking one of their master's arms, while Lilica watches us as the four of them leave…

They all disappear in a blur of motion. Several minutes later, I let out a long sigh, closing my eyes and turning off the Sharingan. I fall backward and land on my ass, just sitting there, feeling the fatigue of the fight beginning to catch up to me…

Hebi turns around, and I can feel her glaring daggers at me…

"Just who do you think you are?" She demands from me. "How dare you run off like that? Without knowing what's going on you charged into a potentially hostile situation without even the slightest attempt at stealth. YOU get in a fight with another ninja that isn't even part of the group we're investigating?"

"That man, he claims he's my father." I tell her. "You know that I was an orphan, raised in the village." I continue. "If you were in my position, wouldn't you have done what I did?"

"You mean, try to kill the man who claims to be your father?" She asks.

I shake my head.

"I don't know who he was…" I mutter. "But I know one thing, whoever he is, he doesn't seem human to me." I explain. "It seems like he's become a monster in search of power…"

I see Hebi shrug.

"Look, either way, we shouldn't stay here long, there's no telling when more Yamikage operatives will come, and in how many numbers." She explains. "We should leave as soon as possible and report back to the village."

I sigh heavily.

"My chakra's drained, I can barely move, let alone move at your speed." I tell her.

Raika opens her mouth, but Himeko does so as well.

"I'll carry you." She says simply. "I've gotten stronger, and your weight isn't going to slow me down any."

I eye her carefully, looking at the blur of colors that resembles Himeko…

"Are you sure?" I ask, and I see the blur nod.

"Yes, I'm positive."

With that, she turns around and kneels down, offering me a place on her back. I climb up as she picks me up piggy back style, holding me on her back. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep, the fatigue finally getting me…

I find myself standing in front of the cell again, my vision restored since it's my dream, or it's inside my mind or something…

"So, you drew on my powers, and look what happened to you." The demon says from behind the bars.

"Go to hell." I tell him simply.

"Aren't you testy?" He asks. "Either way, you managed to give that man a run for his money, so I suppose your use of my chakra wasn't a waste."

"Your chakra?" I ask. "The jutsu that did him in was the Tsukuyomi, and I used my chakra to execute it, since yours was already drying up."

"You used my chakra to fuel the Amaterasu, a jutsu you know full well consumes a large amount of chakra, and you used it twice in rapid succession, any source of chakra would be drained by that."

I shrug.

"Either way, it isn't as though the Amaterasu helped me."

"You misused it."

I raise my eyebrows.

"What does that mean?" I demand from him.

"Both times you used it, you concentrated the fire on your hand, when you should've blown the fire toward him, rather then use it in that ridiculous jab." He explains. "Any other jutsu of equal power would've stopped his attack."

"Well, if I don't know how to use it, then why don't you tell me how to use it?"

I see him grin.

"You're a smart boy, you can figure it out."

With that, I open my eyes, groaning lightly as I shift my head, and I can feel the air whipping by, the sounds of feet against wood waking me from my slumber. I can hear a gentle beating in my left ear…

"Wha…" I mutter, and I raise my head, looking around to see that I'm still riding on Himeko's back, with the other two ninja in a group formation.

"You're awake, Tsuzaku?" I hear Himeko's voice, and I nod, putting my head back against her back.

I hear her heart beat get just a little faster…

"Yeah, thank you for this…" I mutter in her ear.

"It's no problem." She says. "I'm glad I could help…"

"Himeko…" I begin, seeing only the blur of the girl holding me. "I think I'm going to give up being a ninja…"

She lands on a branch, and then stops in her tracks, looking at me over her shoulder as she holds me.

"What do you mean by that?" She asks. "Why would you do that?"

I feel ashamed to answer her question, but I do so anyway…

"Himeko, my eyes, my sight…" I mutter, not able to put into words what I mean.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" She asks. "They look fine to me."

I close my eyes and shake my head.

"My vision is getting worse, ever since that fight, your face has looked like a blue and white blur to me, your eyes nothing more then lavender blurs on your white face." I tell her. "I can't see details anymore, without the Sharingan, I'm useless…"

"So?" She asks. "You've got the Sharingan, you'll just have to rely on it more then you did."

I shake my head.

"I don't want to do rely on it anymore then I already am…" I tell her. "I received that power from that man, and every time I use it, it's like I'm depending on him." I explain to her. "I feel like I'm relying more on his power then my own…"

"You are you." She says simply, taking off into motion as both Hebi and Raika have stopped ahead, looking back in silence, seeing the two of us talking. "The Sharingan you have is yours and no one else's, just like the Byakugan I have is mine and doesn't belong to anyone other me." She tells me. "If my normal eyesight starts to get bad, I'll just start using this power a little more, that's all."

"I wish it were that simple." I tell her. "It isn't as though my sight is going to get better, there's no way my vision can recover, the Mangekyo Sharingan has degenerated my sight, and if I use it anymore, then it's only going to get worse, and without the Amaterasu or the Tsukuyomi, I can't beat him, and I can't bring Chisato back…"

She shakes her head.

"You're strong Tsuzaku; you'll figure out something, you always do." She says. "If you have to learn to maintain the Sharingan all the time, then I'll help you however I can, just know that there are people here for you and people that care about you, and you don't have to give up being a ninja just because you've run into a problem that you can't solve by using a jutsu."

I sigh as I put my head against her back again.

"I don't know…" I tell her. "And I don't want to think about it."

My chakra is still low, and my body still feels heavy. I rest there in silence as Himeko leaps from tree to tree, keeping up with Hebi and Raika as we all return to the village. I feel her leap from tree to tree, her legs coiling and springing as she moves, and I feel myself slip off again into a light sleep. I lay there, and I feel her come to a stop almost an hour later, and I open my eyes to see we're standing before the main gate to the Village Hidden in the Leaves…

"We're home." Himeko notifies me, and I nod, slipping off her back and on to my own two feet.

"Let's go." Hebi insists. "I've got reports to make, we all do."

With that, the four of us walk into the village, and we all follow Hebi as she heads to the Hokage's office. We follow her, and eventually we find ourselves standing in the Hokage's office, standing before a council of people sitting behind a long desk, the Hokage sitting in the middle of it all.

"So, I take it your mission was a success?" The Hokage asks, and Hebi nods.

"Our mission was successful, we found a Yamikage staging ground outside the village, and after locating the staging ground, it was destroyed."

"So, the four of you attacked the staging ground, and destroyed it using your skills?" He asks.

Hebi shakes her head no.

"When we found the staging ground, Himeko Hyuga used her Byakugan to do reconnaissance on the area, and during the reconnaissance, we discovered a separate intruder to the site." Hebi explains. "That intruder asked any of the Yamikage members if they would join him, and they all refused him outright, and in response to that fact, the intruder killed each and every Yamikage member present at the staging ground."

I see the Hokage raise his eyebrows.

"This intruder, was he a ninja?"

Hebi nods.

"Yes, I believe he was." Hebi says. "He exhibited the Sharingan, which tells me that he is somehow related to the Uchiha clan of this village."

I see the Hokage's eyes go wide at the mention of the word 'Sharingan.'

"He also used a blade of lightning chakra to kill the ninja, and he did so with great skill using the element." Hebi explains.

"It can't be…" The Hokage mutters; and I don't see the recognition in his blurry eyes…

"Do you know that rogue?" Hebi asks. "He seemed rather powerful to be just a no name ninja."

The Hokage growls under his breath, and I see his blurry fist balled together.

"Yes, I know who that person is." He finally says. "He's one of the greatest traitors to this Village, and it was decreed by my predecessor that his name would never be spoken in this village again."

_Well, at least that tells me something, all I have to do is look up historical records and find the names of all the people that the Fifth Hokage declared traitors to the village, and find the people who's name she wouldn't allowed to be spoken…_

"So what do we do now?" I ask. "Do we just wait here while he's out there?" I ask.

I see the Hokage eye me carefully.

"Is something wrong with your eyes?" He asks. "Your eyes don't seem right to me."

With that, it comes out about what I've been doing, and immediately, the Hokage orders me to report to see a medic, the most accomplished in the village…

The next thing I know, I'm lying on an exam table, my cloak laid on the back of a nearby chair, staring up at the lights on the ceiling, though I see them as nothing more then white blurs in front of my eyes.

"Now, I want you to just lie still while I examine your eyes." She tells me.

I do so as the pink haired ninja leans over me, using a flashlight to examine my pupils, and then runs a series of tests on my eyes. As she examines me, I see her start, and I look at her face as she looks down to my neck line.

"What's this?" She asks.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"This mark, it looks like some type of cloud..." She tells me.

She pulls the neck of my shirt down, and I see the black tattoo like mark on my neckline, just above my shoulder blades. It does indeed look like a blurry cloud design, though it looks like a black blur to me…

_If I tell her I don't know what that is, then she'll want to run more tests, so I have to make up something quick…_

"It's a birthmark." I tell her. "For as long as I can remember, I've had that mark there…" I lie to her.

She looks at me sideways, as if skeptical about my lie.

"Well, it isn't anywhere in your medical file." She says. "Something like this would usually show up in a file."

I shake my head.

"My adopted father knew the medic who examined me, and he left out the birthmark because he didn't want me singled out at the academy."

"Well…" She begins. "I'm going to put it in your file now, you're a Chunin now, and people need to know about this mark when they examine you, it'll save time in the future."

I nod.

"Sure, go ahead, I don't care about it now, back then I was concerned about how people would accept me, but now I don't care." I tell her.

She nods as she writes a note in her file, and then goes back to my eyes. After nearly 3 hours of constant tests, I find myself sitting on the exam table as the pink haired ninja enters the room, holding a clipboard with several papers on it.

"What's the prognosis?" I ask.

"Well, it appears that your kekkei genkai degrades your vision by creating a small tumor like object in your eye, fouling up the reflection of light in your eyes." She says. "I can fix this, but it's going to take an entire day to perform the healing jutsu, and if you do whatever it is that damaged your eyes, then it will damage your eyes just like it did before." She explains.

I nod.

"All right, please perform the operation."

She exhales through her nose.

"I thought so, so I already got a room prepared when I left the room, please follow me."

I nod as I follow her out of the room and into a medical room, with marks written on the floor, and three women all standing in the room.

"These are medic ninja." She says. "I'm the only one who can start the jutsu, but these three will have to continue it after my chakra gets low."

I nod as I lie down in the middle of the marks, and she puts her hands together, forming a sign, she puts her hands over the marks…

"Now!" She says, and I feel chakra flow into my body.

I feel myself get sleepy, and I close my eyes, feeling myself drift off into a deep sleep…

_Must be an effect of the jutsu…_

As I slip off into sleep, I feel myself enter my own mind, and I stand before the cell, the demon staring at me from beyond the bars…

"So, what do you want?" He asks me.

"What's the mark on my neck?" I demand. "It wasn't there before the fight against that man, and considering I used a lot of your chakra, you have to have something to do with it."

I see it 'nod.'

"Yes, that mark is a gift from me to you." He says.

"A gift…" I say skeptically, raising my eyebrows.

"Yes…" He begins. "With that, not only will you be able to draw on my chakra, but when you use the mark, it will force more chakra out of your body, increasing the amount of chakra you have." He says. "Needless to say, with this increase in power, you'll be much stronger since you'll be able to pump more chakra into your legs and your own jutsu."

"That's it?" I ask. "There's no downside?"

"Well, there are a few down sides to it, but it wouldn't be any fun if I just told you." He says. "So, use it however you like."

I shake my head.

"So, I take it that's why I was so tired after the fight?" I ask.

He smiles a toothy grin.

"Yes, the seal drained a lot of your strength, as well as the fatigue from the fight against him." He says. "So, you slept like you did, and you managed to survive without any problem, enjoy the seal."

With that, I open my eyes, and I feel like I've slept for an entire day…

"So, you're awake…" I hear Himeko's voice, and I look around, and I see Himeko sitting next to me on a hospital bed…

_Wait, my vision is just as good as it was before I started using the Mangekyo Sharingan, so that means that the jutsu was a success, and that my eyes are restored._

"Himeko…" I mutter. "It's good seeing you so clearly."

I see her smile.

"You were out for the entirety of the jutsu, plus another 4 hours." She tells me. "You feel all right?"

I nod, giving her a smile as I feel the shirt against my chest; and the pants on my legs.

"I feel great; I've never felt better in my entire life." I tell her. "Seriously…"

I see her smile happily.

"That's good Tsuzaku; it's nice to see you smile."

I give a light hearted chuckle.

"Well, I feel fine, so as soon as I get a clean bill of health, I need to get back out there."

_Actually, I need to improve, I need to train and get stronger so I don't have to rely on the Mangekyo Sharingan. My vision is perfect, and I'd like to keep it that way…_

Nearly an hour later, after a full spectrum of tests get run on my eyes, the doctor tells me my vision is as good as it's going to get, and to avoid doing anything that might put anything in my eyes for a few days. He told me to avoid using any dojutsu as well, since they might have a negative effect on the healing process.

When I leave the hospital, fully dressed and wearing my Akatsuki cloak, Himeko walks next to me, surprisingly, Raika didn't come to the hospital…

"I wonder where Raika is." I tell the Hyuga. "Normally she'd be all over something like this."

"She's training." Himeko tells me. "Now that we're here in the village, she's gone off to a training ground to improve her skills." She explains. "Raika didn't like the fact that she wasn't strong enough to protect you, and that you had to use the Mangekyo Sharingan…"

I shake my head, sighing heavily.

"That wasn't her fault." I tell Himeko, and the girl just shrugs.

"She takes your well being quite seriously, so I guess she just won't be happy until she surpasses you."

I nod.

"I think she might be aiming for that, but I don't know, in spite of her absolute loyalty to me, I don't know much about her, other then the fact that she possesses a clan inherited power to be able to store and manipulate lightning chakra within her body."

I see Himeko shrug her shoulders.

"Well, I think that you really need to talk to her about her obsession with you, it could turn into jealousy if you don't try and stem it now."

I nod solemnly, thinking of what jealousy can push people to…

"You're thinking about Chisato, aren't you?" She asks, and I blink, realizing that I've stopped walking, and she's standing half a step in front of me, leaning forward to look up into my eyes…

I shake my head slowly.

"It's just…" I begin, searching for the words. "I promised that I'd find her, and I'd bring your cousin's eyes back to him, or at least bring her back to the village to face justice, but right now, I'm no closer to knowing where she is or what she's doing then I was the last time we came here."

Himeko pats me on the shoulder, trying to assuage my feelings.

"You can't be so hard on yourself." She tells me. "You've got a lot on your plate, what with the Yamikage building up power and that rogue ninja trying to do the same." She explains. "You're trying too hard, and besides, we know Chisato is with that man, so once we find him, we'll find her."

I nod, and I look the Hyuga girl in the eyes, and I step toward her, wrapping her in my arms.

"Thank you, Himeko…" I mutter in her ear, and I feel her hands snake around my ribs.

"It's all right." She tells me. "I'll be here with you, and so will Raika, you don't have to worry so much."

By now, we're making a scene, and when I look around, I see people noticing that one of the Hyuga Main Branch is hugging someone, and I hear people mumble.

"We should get going." I say simply as I step back away from her. "People are starting to stare."

Himeko mumbles her agreement, and we both start off down the street, heading back for her home. As we walk the streets of the village, I find myself smiling and enjoying this time I'm spending with her in relative peace, in spite of the two preverbal vipers poised to strike at the village. When we get back to her home, we both take off our shoes, and I take off my cloak, resting it on a rack, I see one too many pairs of shoes by the foyer…

"Someone's here…" I say simply, and Himeko shrugs her shoulders.

"I didn't know we were expecting company."

The two of us walk the halls, and we hear noises coming from the dining room. As we get closer to the source of the noise, I start to recognize the voice, and when I look at Himeko, her voice confirms that she does too…

I open the door, and I see Hinata and Neji sitting at their dining room table, with Ishikawa sitting at the table, a crutch on the floor of the room next to him…

"Ishikawa, what's going on?" I ask as he sits there, and I get the feeling that I interrupted them.

Neji looks at me with cold eyes, and I can see he still feels some hostility toward me…

"Well Tsuzaku…" He begins. "You haven't changed that much since I last saw you." He tells me. "In fact, I came to see both you and Himeko Hyuga, and I was just waiting for you to return."

I walk forward, and my eyes rest on the wooden crutch next to him.

"You mean you were concerned about me?" I ask. "That isn't like you, especially since it looks like you're messed up yourself."

He shakes his head as Himeko sits down, and I sit down next to her.

"So, what's this all about?" She asks.

"Well, first of all, I came here because Lady Hyuga asked me to drop in, since she heard about what happened to me and asked me to stop by, since she was sure you two would be concerned." He explains.

"Well, what did happen to you?" I ask. "You didn't lose did you?"

He shakes his head.

"No, I didn't lose to anyone, but this did happen on a mission." He tells me. "I took a C Rank along with my new squad of genin, and we ran into some unexpected trouble, and I had to use a forbidden Taijutsu combination that nearly broke me in half." He tells me. "If it wasn't for the hospital in the land of waves, I wouldn't be standing here now."

"So, what's the other reason you came here?" I ask.

I see him eye me, locking his gaze on me.

"You're being promoted Tsuzaku." He says. "To the rank of Tokubetsu Jounin..."

I raise my eyebrows.

"Why am I being promoted?" I ask. "None of my missions lately have been successful."

He shakes his head.

"The Hokage has received Hebi's report, and from that he's decided to promote you to this Jounin level, and he's also decided to openly support your Akatsuki in their quest to eliminate the threat of rogue ninja from every land as a multi national group." He says. "During the next 5-Nation Conference, he's going to suggest that the other 4 nations consider supporting the organization and is going to press the point of how many rogue ninja you've caught and killed, all the while keeping the nation's secrets safe."

I shake my head.

"You're kidding right; this is some sort of joke, right?" I ask.

Ishikawa shakes his head.

"No, I'm being quite serious." He says simply. "You've earned this promotion as well as the support of this village by demonstrating your loyalty through your actions."

I exhale through my noise, the deepness of what he's said filling my mind.

_This means that the Akatsuki will finally have the support of the land of fire, and that means that other nations will begin to take us seriously rather then as a joke organization. Now I can hopefully find that man, and bring the threat of the Yamikage to an end…_

"Well…" Ishikawa begins, picking up the crutch and standing up, sliding it under his left arm. "I'll be going now, until such time as you're needed, you're free to remain here in the village." He tells me. "If I were you, I'd be training and trying to get stronger, because the threats that are out there are going to need every ounce of strength this village can muster to stop them."

I nod, and so does Himeko.

"I'm going to go do just that." I tell him, waving at Himeko and then Ishikawa. "Hope you feel better."

With that, I leave the room, feeling the surge of adrenaline hitting my body. I slip on my shoes and I'm out the door, grabbing my cloak as I run, wrapping it around my body as I head to the ninja training grounds within the village. I find an empty one easily enough, and when I arrive, I feel the wind blow the grass, gently swaying the plant in the breeze.

"If I can master THAT jutsu…" I begin. "Then I'll have a technique that I can use against both Chisato and that man, and they'll never expect it, since it doesn't even use a hand sign…"

I remember through my Sharingan, and I use the dojutsu's copying ability to mimic the technique, focusing and swirling chakra in my hand, I run forward leisurely and I slam the ball of chakra into the tree. The ball quick dissipates, creating a small crater in the tree the size of a baseball, with grooves cut into the wood in the shape of a spiral…

"That's pretty impressive…" I hear from behind me.

I turn around to see the Sixth Hokage approach me with his arms at his sides, a grin on his face.

"Lord Hokage…" I begin my tone humble.

"So, you're trying to master the Rasengan, are you?" He asks.

_Rasengan, is that the name of this jutsu?_

"I guess…" I begin, looking down at my right hand. "Though, I can't seem to get it right…"

He grins again.

"That's because this jutsu was made by the Fourth Hokage, one of the greatest ninja to ever come out of this village, and it took him years to master it." He says. "It took me roughly a month to figure it out, and even then, I was nowhere capable of using it one handed."

'So…" I begin. "What do I need to do in order to master it?" I ask him, and I see him grin as he raises his right hand.

I watch as he forms the spinning ball of chakra as if it wasn't a problem, and he holds it there, showing it to me…

"You've already mastered creating a rotating sphere as well as the power necessary, what you need to learn now is combining them and spin the chakra as quickly as you can with as strong a chakra as you can." He tells me. "Once you're able to do that, you'll form a complete sphere, and be able to do this…" He tells me.

He runs toward the tree I hit, and drives the jutsu into the tree. I watch as it spins, cutting the tree in half and spinning it around as it blows the tree backward, leaving the tree without a top.

"Remember, rotation and power, and eventually you'll be able to get it." The Hokage tells me. "Just keep it up, and you'll master it." He says. "And by the way, congratulations on your promotion to Tokubetsu Jounin, consider that lesson my gift for the promotion."

I nod.

"Thank you very much, Lord Hokage."

He waves his hand.

"Forget about it." He says. "If you'll excuse me…" He begins.

He disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving me standing there, and I look down at my right hand, and then at the destroyed tree…

_Well, no time like the present…_

I hold my right hand in front of me, and I focus my chakra onto my hand. I focus, spinning the chakra and forming it into a ball…

I feel the ball stabilize in my hand, and I run forward, driving my hand into the tree, I watch the technique hit the tree, and it hardly even digs into the tree. I shake my head as I leap back and put more distance between myself and the tree…

_Damn, still isn't good enough to form the complete jutsu. _

I look down at my hand, and I grit my teeth.

_I need to keep practicing; I know I'll get this sooner or later…_

Five hours later, I stand before the tree, the trunk falling over, but I still haven't completed the Spiraling Sphere…

"Damn it…" I mutter, looking down at my hand. "Even with the recorded and copied knowledge of the Sharingan, I still don't feel any closer to mastering the jutsu…" I mutter.

_The Sixth Said I needed to focus on power and rotation, to combine spinning the chakra as fast as I can with pulling as much chakra into the ball as possible…_

_Remember, speed, power, and rotation, speed, power, rotation…_

I repeat the thoughts as I hold my hand out, focusing my chakra onto my hand. I keep thinking: speed, power, rotation over and over again, and I can feel the jutsu beginning to form…

_Speed, power, rotation, speed, power, rotation…_

I focus more and more chakra onto my hand, spinning the chakra faster and faster, intensifying the chakra as I go…

_Speed, power, and ROTATION!_

I feel the ball stabilize, and I can feel the power in the ball in my right hand. I quickly spot an undamaged tree, and I charge for it, driving the sphere into the tree, I roar in anger as I use my physical strength, and I see the ball spin, literally ripping the tree from the ground and spinning it around in a swirling vortex in front of my hand, and finally the ball launches from my hand a moment later, the tree flying through the forest as it slams into an even bigger tree, and I stand there, holding my right arm forward and looking at the spot where the tree used to be…

_That's it, that's the Rasengan. I can't believe that I managed to master it that quick, but it takes so much concentration to use it like that, I don't know if I'll be able to use it effectively in battle, not without making some sort of distraction to prevent the enemy from attacking me while I focus the ball…_

I clench my right hand into a fist, and I feel my hand sting at my fingers contacting the skin.

"That was impressive…" I hear a familiar voice from behind me.

I turn around and I see Himeko standing there, a smile on her face.

"Himeko, what are you doing here…" I mutter.

I see her smile.

"I've been watching you train, ever since Lord Hokage came here." She tells me. "I just think it's amazing that you mastered that jutsu so quickly."

I shake my head.

"I don't know if you can say that I've even mastered it." I tell her. "It takes so much of my concentration that I don't think I could use it in a ninja battle." I explain to her. "While I was concentrating and focusing on forming the jutsu, my opponent would have a multitude of openings to attack me."

She gives me a happy short smile.

"I think you'll figure something out." She tells me. "You're smart like that, and I've got every confidence in you."

I shrug my shoulders.

"Well, now that I've mastered that jutsu…" I mutter. "I need to create some way to counter the chokuto that man carries." I tell her. "I have no idea how to do that, but I'm going to need a blade of some kind."

I see her grin.

"Why not form a chakra blade in the form of a sword blade?" She asks. "One of the most well known ninja in the village wielded a weapon like that, and became famous for it."

I nod.

"Thank you Himeko…" I tell her. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

3 days later, I sit over a work table in one of the many rooms in the Hyuga mansion. I came to this room to get away from my bedroom, and it's in here that I've spent the last three days, working, focusing my chakra and forming it into the simple empty chokuto hilt Himeko's mother supplied to me. I keep my eyes closed and I use the chakra manipulation skills I learned in mastering the Rasengan to help me form the chakra blade…

_Okay, now stretch the blade out, extend it and swirl it, keep it in constant rotation and focus as much chakra as you can into the blade…_

I hold my hands roughly 4 feet apart, my left hand over the empty hilt, on a small wooden stand with another stand near where the end of a sword blade would be, using it as a reference to forming the blade…

I move my hands back and forth, emitting chakra through my hands and into the air where the sword blade would be. I continually focus both my and the black chakra into the blade, and I feel it begin to form. As I start to form the blade, I know that I can't stop until I form the stable weapon. I keep focusing my chakra, pumping more and more energy into the weapon…

_Come on, keep it going…_

8 hours later, I let out a sigh of relief, and I open my eyes to see a stable black straight blade made of chakra shooting out from the hilt of the sword, stable as it spins at the microscopic level, literally capable of cutting something apart by ripping the molecules apart one by one using chakra spinning at such a high speed that it actually appears to be cutting the target, forcibly separating it rather then ripping it apart…

"It's done…" I mutter, almost 4 days since I started working on the weapon.

I lean down to my right and I grasp the harness and sheath, and I put the sheath on my back, and then I reach for the weapon, grabbing the hilt, I move the sword slowly as I reach it up and then slide it gently into the sheath. I stand there, my Akatsuki cloak hung on the chair behind me, the hilt of the sword just behind my head, concealed by my face and hair from the front…

_Perfect, now that I've got this sword and have mastered that jutsu, I know I've improved a lot…_

I smile as I stand there, and I leave the room, going out into the hallway, I don't see anyone around. I walk toward the courtyard, and when I get there, I see Himeko and Neji standing apart from each other, both of them standing in a normal Gentle Fist stance…

_Looks like she's training as well, I guess that means that I wasn't the only one trying to get stronger…_

I can almost feel the tension in the air between them, and a moment after I arrive, I see the tension snap. The two of them come after each like other trained martial artists. They thrust and kick toward each other, and even without the Sharingan, I can see the immense chakra flowing from their strikes…

_The Gentle Fist, a style of taijutsu designed to take advantage of the Hyuga Clan's insight into the human body with their Byakugan. With it, they can attack the chakra network and prevent the flow of chakra through the body, as well as attack the vital organs that are closely linked with the network. Himeko has been training in this form of taijutsu, the style handed down in her family for generations, and even with my skills with the Sharingan, I can't copy it, I can mimic the motions, even use the chakra bursts from my hands, but without the kekkei genkai of the Hyuga, I can't see the chakra network, and therefore attacking like that is like fighting blind…_

The two of them move in a blur of motion, watching them go back and forth, I'm amazed at how much Himeko has improved since I last saw her fight. She fights on par with her cousin, and now she stands firm, blocking his blows, and he in return barely blocking her own…

After nearly 10 minutes of standing there, they stop, and I see them bow to each other, and then Himeko turns toward me, seeing me there with her Byakugan…

"Tsuzaku, what are you doing there?" She asks. "I thought you were busy training."

I nod.

"I did what I set out to do." I respond. "So, I figured it was time I got out of that room and did something relaxing."

"Like what, go off and kill someone?" Neji asks sarcastically.

I see Himeko give him a quick look of scorn, showing her disapproval for his snide comment.

"I was thinking about taking a relaxing walk around the village." I tell him. "After all, working all the time and not taking any time to stop and enjoy life takes most of the fun out of living, and doesn't make life worth living."

He doesn't respond verbally, instead he turns his gaze back toward Himeko.

"You've improved a lot since we last sparred; I look forward to our next match." He says simply, and then walks out of the courtyard and into the house.

With him gone, Himeko approaches me, and I can see a light sweat on her face…

"Why do you always spar against him, why not spar against your mother, she's the leader of the clan, isn't she?" I ask.

Himeko nods.

"Yes, Mom is the leader of the Clan, but Uncle Neji is more powerful then she is."

I raise me eyebrows.

"You mean; the strongest member of the clan doesn't lead it?"

She shakes her head no.

"My family is separated into a main house and a branch houses." She tells me. "The Branch Houses exists only to serve and protect the main house, and we control them by means of a special curse seal." She explains to me. "For a long time, Uncle Neji despised my mother because she was to inherit the clan, even though he was born with more talent then she was." She tells me. "Though, they worked it out, and Mom eventually started learning from Uncle Neji, and to this day she continues to improve her skills, she never thinks that she's worthy enough to succeed the clan, and even though Uncle Neji acts as her bodyguard, she still wants his approval and wants to surpass him, so he doesn't have to always be around."

I shrug my shoulders.

"Well, either way, as long as your family works, I don't care, I was just curious, that's all."

She shakes her head.

"No, I wanted you to know…" She tells me. "Since now that Mom is leading the clan, she's changing the way we do things, she isn't sticking to the old ways of family lineage and who is born first to determine who goes into which family." She tells me. "If mom had her way, she'd get rid of the whole idea of a branch family and make all Hyuga members of the main house."

"That's awfully revolutionary, why doesn't she just go ahead with it then?" I ask.

Himeko closes her eyes, as if ashamed of something.

"Not everyone in my family is as willing to follow my mother as Uncle Neji." She tells me. "Many believe that my grandfather should never have passed down the title of Clan heir to mom, and should've given it to my Aunt instead."

"So, why don't you try and convince them that they're wrong?"

She shakes her head.

"I don't have the kind of power necessary for that." She tells me. "As long as I can't beat Uncle Neji, I'll never be ready to prove that our line is the proper one, and that grandfather made no mistake."

There's a moment of silence between us, and during that moment I can tell that Himeko bears a heavy load on her shoulders. Being born into the Main House of the Hyuga family is as much a curse as it is a blessing, and hearing her talk like this, I think of my own life, and because I don't have all the baggage of a clan and a family with rules and a hierarchy, how different our childhoods must've been…

"Anyway…" I begin, trying to change the subject. "Would you accompany me on a walk through the village, I've got some money saved up, and I haven't been around the village in such a long time, since I started Akatsuki and all."

I see her smile a genuine smile, the Byakugan fading from her eyes as she does.

"Sure, I'd love to."

With that, the two of us go out on our 'date' even though I'm living in her home, and I'm honestly scared to death of her uncle. As we walk through the village, I take in the sights of the place that has been my home, and people look at us as we walk, even with my normal eyes, people still look at us, but I get the feeling they're looking more at Himeko then I am, recognizing the daughter of the heir of the strongest clan in the village. I can't imagine what kind of pressure that puts on someone, and as we walk, I see her smile as we go from shop to shop, looking around, and buying small snacks to munch on. We walk and we talk, and through it all, I find myself smiling at the time I'm spending with the girl, as if I don't have any cares in the world…

But all of that changes when I see an ANBU member leap from the rooftops above me, and the woman lands in front of us, wearing a full uniform, and sporting a white cat like mask…

"Tsuzaku Sasaki, Lord Hokage wishes to see you, immediately." She tells me.

I don't recognize her voice, and I nod.

"All right…" I tell her. "Tell him I'm on my way."

The ANBU member nods, and then disappears, using body flicker to return to the rooftops. I look at Himeko, and I see a frown on her face.

"Don't worry about it, it's probably something to do with the village supporting Akatsuki, I doubt it's that important, otherwise I would've heard about it from one of my subordinates." I tell her.

She nods, though I can tell she isn't sure about what I'm telling her.

"If you want, you can come with me, I don't think Lord Hokage would have a problem with that." I tell her, and she nods.

"Thank you, Tsuzaku…" She says with a smile, and I can't help but think she's cute…

The next thing I know, I'm standing in front of the Hokage in his private office, with Himeko standing next to me…

"What have you called me here for, Lord Hokage?" I ask.

I see him look at me sternly, as if grave implications rest on his words…

"I take it you want to fight against the man who claims to be your father…" He begins. "I've read Hebi's report from your mission with her, and from what she described, it sounds to me as though he primarily uses Lightning based techniques." The Hokage tells me. "Since that's the case, there's a jutsu I want you to teach you." He tells me. "It's an ace in the hole that you can use against his lightning based attacks."

I look at Himeko, and then back to the Hokage.

"You want to teach me something?" I ask him. "I can't use my Sharingan for a while, so I'll have to learn it the old fashioned way." I explain.

I see him grin.

"Is there any other way to really master a jutsu?"

With that, he leads me up to the roof of the building, and Himeko follows me up. I watch as the Hokage stands in the middle of the rooftop, and then holds out his right hand.

"Hebi told me you managed to learn to use the Rasengan because of your Sharingan, tell me, have you mastered that technique?"

I nod.

"Yes, I've managed to form a stable sphere on my own, and I've mastered the technique." I tell him.

I see him grin.

"Good, that'll make this one easier."

He makes a quick sequence of hand signs, and then holds his right arm out straight, parallel to his shoulders…

I feel the air begin to move, and I literally see moving air begin to swirl around his right forearm, and I watch as he manipulates wind chakra, channeling it into a vortex that spins around his hand…

"This jutsu is a wind based version of the 1000 Birds." He tells me, moving his arm forward and pointing it toward me. "With it, you can jab your opponent with this arm and kill them with a single blow, or you can manipulate the chakra that spins around your hand." He continues. "I developed this jutsu to utilize my chakra affinity, but I haven't had a chance to use it against a lightning user." He continues.

I nod.

"First…" He begins. "You need to focus chakra onto your right hand and forearm." He tells me. "After using the signs to mold the chakra into your right hand, you have to begin to swirl it around you, and try to catch the air with the chakra, and when you're capable of doing that, wind chakra will surround your hand and begin to spin." He tells me. "Use what you've learned in creating a stable Rasengan to master this technique, and you'll be properly equipped to fight against any lightning technique."

I nod as he dissipates the jutsu, leaving Himeko and I standing there.

"Even without your Sharingan, you've got a great amount of talent, work at mastering this jutsu, and when you do, you'll have one more attack under your belt."

I nod, and he looks away from me, toward the mountain of the Hokage, the faces carved into the side of the mountain…

"I've got work to do, so you'll need to work at this on your own." He tells me. "It's a hard jutsu to master, so you're going to need to work."

I nod, and Himeko stays silent as the Hokage walks past us and then down the stairs.

"Please, find another training ground; I'd rather not have you do it here."

I nod my understanding; the Hokage disappears, leaving the two of us alone.

_Fortunately, I remember the sequence of signs, but as far as wind chakra goes, I know very little about it. I guess I'll have to really work at this one, without my Sharingan, I'm really just a normal shinobi, which means I need to practice…_

"Let's go Himeko." I say simply. "We've got training to do."

She sighs heavily, and I know that she doesn't want our day of relaxation to end, but she knows better then to complain about it. We walk down the building and out the front door, and I walk toward the training ground areas, knowing that not all of them can possibly be occupied…

"You really want to try and master that ninjutsu, don't you?" Himeko asks me, and I nod.

"Lightning chakra is weakest against wind based chakra." I tell her. "Even though I've nearly mastered the water and fire arts of chakra, both of them are relatively useless against a bolt of lightning."

She lets out a breath, and then closes her eyes.

"You really want to beat him, don't you?" She asks, and I nod again.

"That man abandoned me, and he's trying to bring more strife and chaos to the world, I'm going to stop him, even if it costs me my life…"

Himeko doesn't say anything to this, and she keeps following me toward the training ground, until eventually I find myself standing in a Genin training ground, with three tree stumps in the middle of the clearing…

"We're here…" I mutter, and I turn to see her walking away from me, approaching a nearby tree at the edge of the clearing.

"I have to practice my Gentle Fist, and you need to work on that jutsu, so I'll practice here, while you work on that technique."

"All right…" I agree with her, and I see her assume her normal fighting stance, and I can see the veins bulging around her eyes.

_Well, at least no one will be able to sneak up on us…_

I face one of the stumps, and I put my hands together, molding my chakra onto them…

_Okay, remember the signs…_

I think back, and I make the sequence of signs the Sixth did, and then I try to mimic his stance, swirling my chakra around my arm, concentrating on catching the air with it, and trying to pull the air around my arm…

I focus, keeping my mind clear as I spin the chakra around my hand, the orange colored energy swirling slowly. I use what I learned during my training to master the Rasengan, spinning and concentrating chakra around my arm, a much larger target then simply my palm…

I clench my fingers, keeping my hand open as if I was gripping a baseball, and I focus my mind, trying to catch the wind. I feel the technique begin to spin on its own, and I realize that it's ready. I charge forward and I drive my hand into the stump, the tree stump stopping my hand without any real show of impact, and I swear as the chakra that swirling around my arm dissipates…

_Damnit, I managed to swirl the chakra, but without the proper direction and focus, the attack is worthless. When I throw the jab, I have to focus the chakra forward almost like a blade, and maybe I can use that to slice into the tree, rather then rely on my strength to do any damage…_

I make the signs again, and I focus more chakra onto my hand…

_This time, I will succeed!_

8 hours later, I find myself lying on the ground, breathing heavily…

_Damnit, I haven't even made any headway with this jutsu at all. Every time I try to 'catch the wind' with my chakra, I end up just spinning chakra around my arm in a swirling motion. Damnit, why the hell is this so hard, learning a technique has never been this hard before in my life…_

"Worn out?" I hear Himeko's voice, and I open my eyes to see her standing over me, her hands on her knees.

I nod, and she sits down next to me.

"Its hard work isn't it?" She asks. "Mastering a jutsu without the help of a bloodline limit or anything else…"

I nod again.

"I've never tried anything so hard in my entire life." I tell her. "Manipulating the air is like swimming up stream, there's so much going against you, and you have to put so much effort into it for so little result."

"Then why not just give up on using wind chakra, I'm sure you can figure out some other way to fight against a lightning technique."

I shake my head.

"There isn't any other way…" I tell her, sitting up. "I have to learn to master this wind based technique, and then I can stand a fighting chance against him."

"Well, you seem like you're really good with fire based arts, so why not try using this jutsu, but with fire based chakra instead of wind based chakra, that will get you used to spinning the elemental based chakra around your arm, and that's something, isn't it?"

I nod, and I smile at her.

"Thanks for the idea, Himeko…" I begin. "But it's late, and I need to eat something, or I won't be able to concentrate."

She smiles happily.

"I was just going to ask that…"

The two of us leave the training ground and head into the village. We go from tree to tree, until finally we find a small restaurant, leaping in front of it, and seeing people walking by, I just shrug it off as the two of us walk inside the small restaurant. The place is dimly lit, with a person in the rear of the establishment strumming a stringed instrument, creating a relaxed atmosphere…

"Nice place…" I mutter to myself, and the hostess, a girl a few years younger then either Himeko or I, and dressed in a formal kimono, stands the near the door.

"Just the two of you today…" She asks, and I nod.

She looks at us both, with her hair tied up above her head, and she motions toward the tables filling the interior of the establishment. She leads us to a small table in the corner, and both Himeko and I sit down by ourselves. We sit across from each other, and I see her happily pick up the menu and look into it, examining it, and I stare at her for a moment, the menu impeding my view of her face, and I start to think…

_How would my life be different if I hadn't met her and eventually moved in with her, I think I'd be living in an apartment somewhere, and I wouldn't have opened up to anyone, I'd still be an emotionless person without a trace of compassion…_

"Do you know what you want, Tsuzaku?" Himeko asks from behind the menu.

I shake my head, and I quickly pick up the menu, opening it and looking at the items listed there. I spot something that interests me, and I figure out what I want quickly, and then I set the menu down, watching her still looking at the menu…

"I know now…" I tell her.

The server comes by five minutes later, and we give her our order. Then, after we've placed our order, we wait and make small talk, talking about things that have happened, and how our training is going…

"Cousin Neji says that I'm learning the more powerful techniques of the Gentle Fist." She tells me. "He says that soon, I'll surpass him in power." She tells me. "My Byakugan has already exceeded even his range, and he says that my Byakugan is the purest form of the bloodline, and I should be ready to inherit the clan in a few years."

I nod.

"That's good…" I tell her in earnest. "It's a good thing that you're capable of leading your clan, and your people, into the future." I tell her.

She shakes her head.

"As important as becoming the leader of the clan is to me, what I want more then anything else is to see you happy, and to be happy myself as well." She tells me. "Tell me Tsuzaku, can you be happy, once you've put a stop to that man?" She asks.

I look down, toward the glass of water resting in front of me, and the ice floating in the clear liquid…

_I never thought about it like that. I've always felt some resent against my biological father for abandoning me like a piece of trash, and I've always felt this desire for revenge against him, and it's driven me to keep on living, to stay alive, and yet I don't know what I'd do if I managed to kill him…_

"I don't know Himeko, I've always felt a desire for revenge against him, and with his intentions to cause havoc and kill people, I want to stop him, and I know that my eyes are probably the only thing capable of standing up to him, and because of that…"

"Maybe you need to think about what's going to make you happy, and then you need to go after that Tsuzaku." She tells me. "If revenge is going to make you happy, then go get it." She continues. "But, revenge is a shallow and dark ambition." She tells me. "It will only lead to remorse and regret, because after you've taken revenge on the person you want to kill, then the people that he was important to will only want to take revenge on you, it's an endless cycle, and will only drag you into darkness."

I close my eyes and I release a breath, exhaling the air that was pent up in my lungs…

_Will killing him make my happy? Do I even really want to kill him at all? I mean, he is my father, the man who gave me life, even though he didn't care for me. Even if I did kill him, what would it accomplish? He apparently runs an organization of sorts, and even with the leader dead, his subordinates would all have to be killed as well, otherwise they'd just continue on with his ambitions and desires. So, what do I do then, do I just murder all of the people he's got working for him, even though some may only be like Raika, and just don't know any better…_

"I think…" I begin, trying to find the words to describe the way I feel. "If I could live peacefully, with you and Raika and everyone else in this village, then I'd be happy." I finally say, looking up at the ceiling. "To live without the threat of attack from rogue Shinobi or paternal violence, I think I could be happy."

I see her smile.

"I'm the same way." She tells me. "I just want to live in peace, with you and my family and everyone else, to enjoy life and not have to worry about fighting and dying."

I close my eyes and I look down toward the table, shaking my head slowly.

"I guess; both of us really aren't suited for the life of a shinobi, huh?"


End file.
